Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke (Season 1)
by Nerdherder51
Summary: A ONCE UPON A TIME / DISNEY FAIRIES crossover story. Regina's dark curse invades Pixie Hollow and brings many of the fairies to our world. They live alongside Snow White and the people of the Enchanted Forest, trapped in a prison of time with no memories of their past or true selves. But could one of them help Emma break the curse? Rated T. Milarion, T&T, Vidia. Ch 38 now posted.
1. Chapter 1

**(Disney's) Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon a Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 1**

Tinker Bell and _Disney Fairies_ and all related characters are the property of The Walt Disney Company. Tinker Bell originated by author J. M. Barrie.

_Once Upon a Time_ and all related characters are the property of ABC Studios. _Once Upon a Time_ created by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.

This fan fiction is not for profit or monetary gain. It is intended only for the entertainment of its audience.

The intent of this fan fiction is to blend in an original story involving several of the characters from the Disney Fairies franchise into the ongoing narrative of the television show.

Notes:

1) Characters, places and events are from the Tinker Bell movie verse (_Peter Pan_; _Tinker Bell_; _Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure_; et al). Characters, places and events for the book verse will be noted within the chapter and the notes when they appear.

2) Mild Alternate / Divergent Universes for both franchises.

3) The Tinker Bell character which appears in this work of fan fiction is not the same Tinker Bell which appears in Season 3.

4) Plot summaries of each episode are included for the benefit of those who have not seen the television series. Some events that occur during the show will have an impact on the original narrative involving the Disney Fairies characters. I strongly encourage readers not familiar with the series to watch the show. It is an excellent entertainment and since it is a visual medium there is a great deal of background detail that will deepen the understanding and experience of the show's plot lines and characters. Previously aired episodes can be found on DVD / Blu-Ray, Netflix and Hulu Plus.

This originated in the section Movies - Tinker Bell. It has been moved to the crossover section beginning with chapter 30.

* * *

OUAT events occur during the first season episode titled "Pilot."

* * *

**Once upon a time...**

**There was an enchanted island where lived **  
** all the Never Fairies we know and love.**

**Or think we know.**

**One day they found themselves**  
** trapped in a place where all their**  
** happy endings were stolen.**

**Our world.**

**This is how it happened…**

**~O~  
**

SNOW WHITE'S CASTLE, THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Grumpy the dwarf kept watch with one of his brothers from the parapet of the castle. He and his brother dwarves swore to help and protect Snow White and David, whom she had nicknamed "Prince Charming," at all costs against Queen Regina and her vow to steal all of their happy endings. When he looked out across the mountains, which were covered with lush, tall, green trees, he saw what he had been dreading for months. A large, billowing cloud. It was purple, spit ominous green lightning and rolled across the mountains and forests with incredible speed, swallowing the landscape acres at a time. This was it, the end of the Enchanted Forest, just as Rumpelstiltskin had predicted. Regina's curse had arrived and Grumpy had to inform his Prince and Princess.

"It's here!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. He then rang the large bell that served as the alarm and everyone in the castle now knew the time had come. They were all to be trapped in a prison. A prison of time for all eternity unless Snow White could enter the magical wardrobe that Geppetto and his son, Pinocchio had carved. It would whisk Snow and her unborn child to a safe place beyond the reaches of Regina's curse. Twenty eight years later, Snow and her child, a girl she had already named Emma, would seek out and defeat Regina, breaking the curse and setting everyone free.

But there was a complication, Snow White gave birth _before_ the wardrobe was ready. It only had enough magic to transport one person. Emma was to be the one who would defeat Regina in the final battle so the child had to go through the wardrobe by herself. A helpless infant going to a strange land. Snow and Charming hoped that she would survive and return to set them all free. Snow wanted desperately to go with her newborn, but she could not. She felt sick because she was to abandon her baby, but it was the only way to ensure that all of the residents of the Enchanted Forest would be able to escape Regina's prison.

Having just given birth, Snow could not take the baby. So her loving and heroic husband Charming took the infant down the hallway to the nursery that was to have been Emma's. The couple had been designing and decorating the nursery until they found out what Regina had intended to do. The plans were abandoned and the room was turned into the workshop where the wardrobe was carved out of the last magical tree in the land. As he made his way down the hall with his newborn baby in one arm, Charming had to sword fight his way through several of Regina's men. He fought bravely, slaying many of the black clad knights. In the nursery the fighting continued until Charming could finally put the child in the wardrobe and closed its doors.

David fought nonstop to protect the wardrobe and Emma until she could be transported to the distant land where she, hopefully, would be safe, grow up and return to break Regina's curse. Charming was laying low Regina's knights until one finally stabbed him through the heart. He collapsed and watched helplessly as the dark warrior forced open the doors to the wardrobe. Had he failed? Would baby Emma still be in there to be plucked before she could be magically taken to safety?

When the doors were opened the wardrobe was empty. The baby was gone and David finally succumbed to his wounds secure in the knowledge that he had indeed completed his goal. He may die this day, but at least the residents of the Enchanted Forest and his beloved wife would be safe once Emma returned to break the evil spell. Snow White finally made her way to the nursery where she found her nearly dead husband lying on the ground, bleeding out. Regina entered the room triumphant. But she was informed that Emma was gone and Snow defiantly spat out that Regina would be fated to lose. Snow took great comfort in knowing this. But it did not matter to Regina, she would finally get her own happy ending, by robbing everyone else of theirs.

A terrible whirlwind appeared and tore the roof from the nursery. The curse began to pull them away.

"Where are we going?" Snow asked Regina, her step mother.

"Some place horrible," Regina replied happily, laughing as she and her step daughter, the person responsible for robbing Regina of her happily ever after, were pulled from the Enchanted Forest and taken, with the other residents of the land, to a distant realm. A place with no magic of its own. Our world.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (the early Edwardian Era on the Mainland)

Clarion, queen of the never fairies, was looking at reports detailing the progress being made for the preparations for her wedding to her beloved Lord Milori She, Fairy Mary and the four ministers of the seasons had gathered near the border where the ceremony was to be held.

"We're behind schedule," Fairy Mary, the tinker overseer and project leader for the ceremony told Queen Clarion.

"Everything looks fine, Mary," Clarion replied with a bit of a laugh. Fairy Mary always said her charges were behind schedule, even when they weren't.

"Well I see it differently, Ree," Fairy Mary replied, "if I let those fairies think we're right on schedule or ahead they'll slack off, then we will most certainly fall behind. We won't be late on my watch. Not if I can help it."

The queen laughed at Mary's deadpan seriousness. Fairy Mary and Queen Clarion were old friends. They had known each other since Clarion was a princess and Mary was just a regular tinker, before she had ascended to guild supervisor of the Tinker Talents. Mary was one of the few fairies who could address the queen with the familiar "Ree" rather than the more formal _Queen Clarion_. It was a privilege Fairy Mary had earned over many centuries of loyal service and devoted friendship to the queen.

"You've never disappointed me, Mary, and you never will," the queen reassured her. "Everything looks perfect."

"Thank you, Your Highness. We will be ready on time," she replied.

"Excellent," Clarion said. "I will see you in the morning, Mary, I still have much work of my own to do." The beautiful queen of the never fairies, dressed in a shimmering gold dress and propelled by large monarch wings evaporated into three balls of glowing pixie dust and hastened back to the Pixie Dust Tree. The next morning she was to receive two surprises: one grand, the other terrifying.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

The curse had taken the others. The Blue Fairy watched in horror as Snow White's castle was engulfed in the dark purple fog. The lightning it spit felt so evil that it scared even the most powerful fairy in all of the enchanted forest. She readied herself for the dark curse to take her when she noticed that Regina's magic was opening a portal to another realm. The evil queen wasn't just satisfied with taking the residents of this land, she was going to take residents of another world, too. Did her anger and hatred know no bounds? Blue deduced that Queen Regina was targeting anyone who had slighted her, or even those whom she suspected had slighted her.

She flew towards the portal to warn the residents there when she noticed that several portals had opened up. Which one? She could only travel through one of them. Once the dark magic made its way to the other realm there would be no coming back as there would be nothing to come back to. Flying near the opened doorways she felt the magic of each realm. One of them caught her attention. It felt familiar, but also different. _Fairies_? Blue thought. She hesitated, but decided to help save others of her own kind and went through.

* * *

NEVER LAND (Early Edwardian Era)

Once on the other side the Blue Fairy cast a shield spell to stop the progress of the dark magic, but it would not hold for long. At most it would last two full days, then her magic would run out and the curse would take anyone in its path. Blue could feel the magic in this realm. It was coming from an island in the midst of a vast body of water. She flew towards it and hoped she would could convince those who lived there to escape. _But to where_? she thought. Hopefully this wasn't a futile act.

During her flight towards the island she came to understand something terrifying. The reason that the magic felt familiar was that she could feel it in the dark curse. Something in Regina's black magic came from this place. Blue's heart sank, had she come to a place filled with Regina's accomplices? But then why did the curse open a portal to come here? The Blue Fairy would soon get her answers.

The sun had risen over the horizon. In the distance she could see streaks of golden magic coming from the sky towards the island. This gave Blue some comfort. Perhaps that was where the fairies who lived here could find shelter from the darkness that Regina had unleashed.

Flying towards the island she saw thousands of fairies flying around. They looked different from her own kind. Rather than dressing in opulent fineries these fairies dressed in clothes made from leaves of various colors. At the center of this place was a huge tree, a sprawling maple where glowing dust poured from its branches. This was the source of magic she had felt on the other side. _ How did Regina find a way to bring it from here?_ she asked herself. Perhaps these fairies could provide the answers.

"Halt!" a soft, but forceful female voice called to her. It was a young woman with blonde hair and dressed in bold colors. Perhaps she was a royal guard, someone who could take Blue directly to the ruler of this land. "State your name and purpose," the blonde fairy asked.

"I am the Blue Fairy from the Enchanted Forest, a distant realm and I come bearing unhappy tidings," she said. "I bring a warning to your ruler, a dark curse is coming and threatens to destroy your home. You and everyone who lives here must leave this place immediately."

"Follow me to the presence of Queen Clarion, ruler of the Never Fairies," the guard stated. She turned and flew towards the giant tree. Blue followed her into one of the many expertly cut holes in the bark of the magical tree.

* * *

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, OCTOBER 2011

Emma Swan met a good looking man at a nice restaurant. She had come across him on an internet dating site and was impressed that his internet photo wasn't a fake. Of course, she already knew who he was, a man who had embezzled money, got arrested, was bailed out by his wife and then ran from the law, leaving his wife and children behind to pick up the pieces of his crimes. Ms. Swan was a bail bonds woman who had been tracking this low life and found him when he had set up an account on that internet dating site.

When he found out who she really was he tried to run, overturning the table and spilling champagne all over her sexy, tight fitting, rose colored dress. "Seriously?" she said of his lame attempt to escape. Of course, she knew people and had arranged for a boot to be placed on his car so he couldn't get away.

Emma strode confidently in her dress and platform high heel shoes across the street to where the bail jumper was trying to get away in his car. She had no reason to run since the vehicle wasn't going anywhere (not that she could in those ridiculous heels and slinky dress). When she caught to him he tried to bribe her. Emma replied that he should give it to his family, especially since it was his wife who paid for his bail.

"What do you know about family?" he asked. He was probably giving her some indication of how much he disliked his home life. But Emma didn't see it that way. She had no family. She had been in and out of the foster care system throughout her childhood and it had been a nightmare. His comment cut her deeply. So she responded by grabbing his head and bashing it into the steering wheel.

"Nothing," she answered, speaking to the man's unconscious form as it lay against the steering wheel.

On her way home she decided to celebrate her 28th birthday with a cupcake. She was alone tonight. This wasn't unusual for Emma. Just another in a long string of lonely nights and lonely birthdays with no friends, family or even parents to help her celebrate or keep her company. She lit the candle on the cupcake and before blowing it out made a simple wish: to not be alone tonight. It was answered in a way she could never have imagined.

There was a knock on the door of her apartment. Emma looked through the peephole and saw no one. She took her sidearm and held it at the ready behind her back. Carefully she opened the door and was a greeted by a fresh faced boy who, after confirming she was indeed Emma Swan, announced that he was her son. The boy she had given up for adoption ten years ago when she was barely eighteen and in jail for trying to sell stolen property.

She wanted to send him back home with the police, but he had worked this out pretty good. If she called the police he would tell them that Emma had kidnapped him. And since she was his birthmother they would probably believe him. Finally, Emma offered to take him home herself. She asked where he lived.

"Storybrooke, Maine," the young Henry replied.

"Storybrooke? Really?" she asked in disbelief. Emma changed into something more comfortable and less revealing (and appropriate for a long drive with a ten year old boy). The two left in Emma's old, yellow Volkswagen Beetle headed for Maine, a four hour road trip.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (Early Edwardian Era)

Viola, the summoner talent fairy, entered the queen's office at the Pixie Dust Tree.

"Yes, Viola," the queen said.

"Your Highness, there is a..., a rather unusual fairy who wishes to speak with you," she replied.

"Unusual? In what way?"

"She is dressed in blue and claims to come from another realm?"

"If you speak of a fairy from the Winter Woods, then this is not a funny joke," Clarion said, a tenseness in her voice.

"No, Your Highness," Viola said. "She says her name is the Blue Fairy and that she comes from a realm known as The Enchanted Forest."

"Very well, I will greet our visitor. Please summon the ministers, Viola." The queen stood from her desk and drifted into the audience chamber, donning her crown along the way, to properly receive her guest.

Viola entered the audience chamber ahead of Clarion and the four ministers of the seasons. She blew her summoner's trumpet and spoke. "Announcing Clarion, Queen of the Never Fairies and ruler of all Pixie Hollow."

When Queen Clarion entered the room she stopped cold, staring at the beautifully dressed fairy that fluttered directly in front of her. The visitor wore a delightful dress that flared out at the hips and featured streamers that hung from the hemline. She had brilliant diamonds set in a magnificent necklace and flowers punctuated her clothing. The visitors' wings were also stunning. She had four, long, full sized wings in the color of her dress. In one hand the visiting fairy carried a wand. Most unusual for fairies in this realm, but perhaps not for those in the realm where visitor originated.

**~O~**

The blue fairy stared back, amazed at the immaculately clothed regent. She wore a dress that appeared to be made of glowing fairy dust. It shimmered and the dust seemed to flow from the waist almost to the floor where it disappeared gracefully at the hemline. The visitor also was mesmerized by the towering, gold colored wings that looked like giant butterfly wings. They also glimmered as if made from fairy dust, or whatever these fairies called it. Within the wings were designs composed of swirls which added a lovely look and texture to the wondrous wings of the queen.

**~O~**

"Greetings weary traveler, please come forward and announce yourself," Clarion said, using the royal "we" in her salutation. "How may we assist you?"

The blue colored fairy bowed and then began to speak. "I bring a dire warning. The evil Queen Regina has unleashed a powerful dark curse which has destroyed my land and is presently invading your realm."

The four ministers gasped in horror.

"Why has this Queen Regina seen fit to destroy my world?" Clarion asked.

"She seeks revenge on all who have offended her. The dark spell will take any who are trapped by it and place them into a prison of time. All your futures will cease and your happy endings will never take place."

"No one here in Pixie Hollow has done anything to offend this Queen Regina," Clarion spoke. "None have even heard of the Enchanted Forest or Her Highness until today."

"Apparently someone has and the curse will find its way to your realm in two days' time. You should prepare to flee and find shelter," the fairy from the enchanted forest pleaded.

The four ministers quickly gathered around Queen Clarion to discuss their options.

"Should we believe her?" Hyacinth, the Minister of Spring asked. "Maybe she wants our home for herself and the others of her kind? This could all be a ruse."

"Don't be ridiculous," the Minister of Summer said, "why would they want our land? The pixie dust from our tree only works on fairies from Pixie Hollow. Did you not see her wand? She clearly has her own magic."

"Well I've certainly never seen her kind before," the Minister of Autumn said, "perhaps we should be cautious and wait."

"Wait for what?" Snowflake snapped. "For this curse to destroy us all?"

"Let us act prudently ministers," Clarion said.

The fairy queen turned to the enchanted fairy and said, "Thank you, Blue Fairy, you have served your purpose well. You may return to your home and we will take all appropriate action."

"I cannot return," she said. "A portal was needed to come to your realm which can only be made by an extremely rare magic. All magic there comes with a price. I knew my fate when I came here."

"Then you are truly brave," Clarion stated. Inwardly the queen was a bit worried. The Blue Fairy's statement that all magic comes at a price sounded vaguely familiar.

The enchanted fairy bowed and said, "Thank you, your highness. You are most kind and generous."

That is when the Hyacinth, the Minister of Spring, spoke up, "Can't you use your own magic to return to this Enchanted Forest?"

"I cannot," she said.

"Perhaps you can use some of our magic," Redleaf, the Minister of Autumn, suggested.

"Our magic and yours are not compatible," the Blue Fairy answered.

"Then how can this curse be of any threat to us in Pixie Hollow?" the Minister of Summer asked.

"Regina's magic is quite powerful," she said. "I feel within it the same magic that comes from this realm, this tree in fact"

"Yellow Pixie Dust?" Hyacinth chirped. "And how did she acquire it?"

"I do not know," she answered, "but my suspicions point to a creature known as The Dark One. Rumpelstiltskin."

The queen gasped in horror. "Please do not let this be true." Right then Clarion knew that her past sins had come back to haunt her. This meant that the threat was real and time was extremely short.

"Viola, summon all the guild supervisors to my presence immediately. We must plan our escape properly," Clarion directed. Immediately the summoner bowed and lit off to complete her mission.

"What?" the Minister of Spring asked rather startled. "You cannot possibly believe this nonsense."

"I know it to be true, do not ask me how, simply do as I say," the queen responded sharply.

"What shall we do your highness?" the Minister of Summer asked. "How can we all hope to escape in two days' time?"

"I can help," said a familiar, but not long heard voice. Into the audience chamber flew a tinker fairy not seen in Pixie Hollow for many seasons. Her one time romantic partner accompanied her. "Sorry, we were listening by the door."

"Tinker Bell," the queen said astonished. _Finally my lost tinker has understood the folly of running away with Peter Pan and returned home. Oh, but what a horrible time you have chosen._ Clarion then retracted her last thought realizing that Tinker Bell's return meant she could indeed help the fairies of Pixie Hollow escape such a horrid fate and that the little tinker would avoid her own imprisonment by the curse Queen Regina had unleashed.

**~O~**

The Blue Fairy recognized the name "Tinker Bell." So, Green, this is where you have come, she thought. Blue, however, was surprised to see another fairy flitter into the room, accompanied by a male of the species. The girl was dressed in a tiny green dress, possessed blonde hair which she kept up in a bun and had deep blue eyes. She was astonished that this fairy was so similar to her own Green Fairy who had taken the same name. This one, however, was different in some ways. She was younger looking, with an almost cherubic face.

"Hi," Tinker Bell greeted in a sweet voice.

"Hello," Blue answered. She stared disbelievingly at the little, green fairy and her companion. She wondered how two "Tinker Bells" could exist and why Regina was targeting these people.

**~O~**

"Can you build more balloon carriers?" the Queen Clarion asked.

"Of course," Tinker Bell said. "But I need to gather enough materials to carry what we need. And I'll need plenty of help."

"Then you shall have it," Clarion stated. "Ministers see to it that the guild supervisors send Tinker Bell whatever assistance she requires."

Then Clarion turned to the dust talent. "Terence, go to the Pixie Dust Depot and inform Fairy Gary to gather all the pixie dust into every empty container he can find, including all the remaining blue pixie dust from the Autumn Revelry that he can."

"Yes, your highness," the dust talent sparrow man said bowing. Terence then turned towards his ex-girlfriend and with a pensive tone in his voice said, "Fly with you later, Tink?"

"Fly with you later, Terence," she replied sadly before leaving for Tinker's Nook.

Clarion watched as Tinker Bell flitted off to her old work area, but she stopped and the queen knew why. The little fairy was watching as Terence made his way to the Pixie Dust Depot. Tinker Bell had left Pixie Hollow many seasons earlier after a long and public disintegration of her romantic relationship with Terence. She clearly still had feelings for him or the little tinker fairy would not have stopped in mid-flight to stare at her ex-boyfriend. It was obvious to the queen that Tinker Bell was pondering what was and what could have been.

Clarion turned back to her visitor to ask another question. "Can you help us, Blue Fairy?"

"I already have. Before coming to this island I cast a protection spell to prevent the curse from entering your realm. However, I must return to manage the spell or the curse will break through. I have enough magic to hold the spell in place for two days."

"Then we shall work tirelessly so your efforts will not be in vain," Clarion told Blue.

The Fairy Queen watched as her visitor flew off into the sky. Her eyes shifted from the visitor from another realm to the distant snowcapped mountains. Clarion's heart sunk. They had come so close, she and Lord Milori. They had been separated for such a long time before being reunited just a few years ago. She was so excited when Milori proposed to her. _I don't want us to wait any longer_, he told her. The announcement was met with great joy throughout the four seasons of Pixie Hollow.

The Blue Fairy's warning changed all of that. Once again duty to her people was going to keep her and Milori apart. After her meeting with the guild overseers Clarion would have to visit her lover and tell him the bad news. His heart was going to break. She knew this because her own heart was breaking, too.

* * *

**I had this idea all the way back in Season 1 but never got around to posting any of it. Yes, I am well aware that a Tinker Bell character exists in the Once Upon a Time universe. This story was almost never posted because of it, but I decided "what the heck, do it anyway." So I guess this means that come season 3 there will be two Tinker Bell characters running around Storybrooke. That should be fun.**

**Tell me what you think of it so far. I'll try to get more posted soon. (As if I don't already have enough stories to work on.) As always, thank you for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(Disney's) Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 2**

* * *

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

It was late when Emma left Boston for Storybrooke. During the long ride Henry removed a large, leather bound book from his backpack. On the cover were the words Once Upon a Time. The words were carefully embossed, with the letters O, U and T especially so. The kid, as she called him, started flipping through it. He told her it was an important book. What she saw were just fairy tales. They weren't just fairy tales, they were real, Henry insisted. She dismissed his assertions, but Henry told her something very strange.

"You're in this book," he said.

"Kid, you've got problems," she answered.

"Yup, and you're going to fix them."

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

Vidia was gathering pollen for the season when she saw something in the sky that caught her attention. It was Tinker Bell returning after all those seasons with Peter Pan.

"She has some nerve," Vidia said with anger in her voice. "After filling my head with thoughts of friendship and community she runs off with that human boy like we never mattered. Now she wants to come back as if it never happened? I'm going to give that arrogant tinker fairy a piece of my mind with a vortex chaser."

When Tinker Bell left, Vidia took it the hardest feeling betrayed and abandoned by the fairy that helped her to learn how to be a friend. She would revert to her previous isolationism and vicious cutting remarks even leaving the clique of close friends of which she had become part.

The fast flying fairy lit off and followed her one time friend towards Tinker's Nook ready to pounce with a vicious tongue lashing. "Hey, Traitor Bell, I have a few words for you and you won't like any of them."

Tinker Bell turned and saw the fast flyer racing towards her. Mixed emotions flooded the tinker fairy's heart. She was glad to see her old nemesis turned friend, but was heartbroken that she had left so suddenly. And now she had to give her the bad news.

"What do you think you are doing back here? You can't just slip back into our lives as if nothing happened, Tinker Bell." Vidia shouted even though the two were almost nose to nose.

"I'm sorry, Vidia," Tinker Bell tried to say.

"NO! You can't say you're sorry after what you did to all of us. Your little gang almost broke up, Silvermist nearly fell to pieces when you left and Periwinkle has never been the same. If you know what's good for you, what's good for all of us, you'll turn around and leave."

"We all have to leave, Vidia."

"No, _you_ have to…"

"Pixie Hollow is about to be destroyed."

Vidia was dumbstruck by this tinker fairy's declaration. "What are you talking about? No such thing is going to happen."

"Yes, it is," Tinker Bell said, sadness taking over her face. "I just came from the Pixie Dust Tree. An evil queen from a faraway place has let loose a curse that will destroy us all in two days unless we can evacuate."

"And you expect me to believe this because…?"

"Ask the queen yourself," Tinker Bell said sniffling and pouting.

"Okay, I will. And then I'll take you on a one way ride out of here." Just as Vidia was about to leave for the Pixie Dust Tree Tinker Bell called to her once more.

"Vidia, I'm sorry. Truly sorry. I should never have left. I want to make it up to you, but we just don't have the time."

The fast flyer gave the tinker fairy a huff of disapproval before zooming off towards the Pixie Dust Tree.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

As the swirling clouds enveloped her, Snow White clutched her heroic Prince Charming. He was the one who woke her from Regina's sleeping curse, he stood beside her as they overthrew Regina and freed the forest from her evil reign. And now he had given his life so that she and everyone in the Enchanted Forest could have a future. And that was what Snow focused on: the future.

They had visited the Dark One in his cell, a prison formed with fairy magic just to contain him. The Dark One informed Snow and Charming what Queen Regina's plan was. He also told them that it was their baby who was to be the savior. On her twenty-eight birthday, their baby would return and the final battle would begin. But everything with Rumpelstiltskin came with a price. In this case, he wanted their baby's name. Snow told him it was Emma.

The darkness surrounded her, the cackling of her stepmother, Queen Regina, filled the room along with the maelstrom. Snow was frightened, yet despite that fear she held within her heart boundless hope for the future.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

At the Pixie Dust Tree, Vidia saw several of the overseers gathered in the main audience chamber. Queen Clarion detailed what she had been told by The Blue Fairy.

Vidia gasped. Tinker Bell was telling the absolute truth. Pixie Hollow was about to be destroyed. Quickly the queen began giving instructions on how to proceed with an evacuation plan. Because of their speed some of the fast flyers were to help coordinate efforts. Wisp was entrusted with alerting Peter Pan and the Lost Boys and giving them instructions to notify all the other inhabitants of Never Land. And it all had to be done by tonight.

"Tonight? But that's impossible!" Vidia shouted.

"I know" the queen said quietly, "but it must be done. As early as tomorrow evening the curse could arrive in Pixie Hollow and destroy us all. Vidia, we are undertaking a huge task. An evacuation that would take an entire season is to be done in less than forty eight hours. _Impossible_ is no longer in our vocabulary."

The fast flyer was completely stunned by the Queen's orders. Vidia's mind boggled at the thought of the massive coordination effort, much less the evacuation itself. She turned again towards the fairy queen and in an uncharacteristic moment let all her egotistical dispositions fall aside and said, "What do you need me to do?"

Clarion was momentarily taken aback by Vidia's sudden willingness to assist, but was nonetheless glad that her best fast flyer was being so cooperative. "You must fly as quickly as possible to the mainland and find a suitable destination for us."

"What about the Griffith's summer house? It's situated near a summer camp and is surrounded by open fields."

"An excellent suggestion, Vidia," the queen replied most approvingly. "If they are willing to render aid, Lizzie and her father could also help to prepare for our arrival, allowing all of our resources to be devoted to the evacuation. Upon completion of this task you must return quickly to assist us with our efforts. Now, leave at once, my dear, all the fairies and sparrow men of Pixie Hollow are depending on you."

Vidia flew out of the tree and went to the Pixie Dust fall in the tree. She filled her bag of pixie dust and even sprinkled some on herself directly from the falling stream. It was against the rules, but this was an emergency unparalleled in scale and required extreme measures. The dark haired flyer shot off towards the mainland, but stopped a moment later. Instead she turned and rocketed towards Tinker's Nook.

Seconds later she arrived at the tinker's workshops and found it bustling with so much activity it was hard to find the one person she needed to locate. "Tinker Bell," she yelled out.

"Tinker Bell, where are you?" she tried again. She looked and looked, but couldn't wait much longer. Getting to the mainland was too important to waste so much time.

"Over here!" the tinker fairy shouted. Tink waved at Vidia to get her attention and instantly the fast flyer was face to face with her.

"I'm sorry, Tink. You were right about the end of Pixie Hollow," Vidia said trying desperately to get out the words she needed to say. "I…, I'm glad you're back." Vidia turned to leave, but she felt something grab her hand. Tinker Bell pulled her into a warm and friendly embrace and the tinker began sniffling and crying. Vidia almost began to cry herself, but tried not to.

"Thanks, Vidia. I just wish we had more time so I could make things right with you," Tink whispered.

"You don't have to," Vidia whispered back. The two separated and Vidia flew off towards the mainland, pushing herself harder than she ever had before.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

It was late at night when Emma's beat up, old Beetle drove into the seaside town. It was a quiet place with nice homes, white picket fences and locally owned businesses. It had the feel of small town America. Emma asked where Henry lived, but he adamantly refused give an answer. She was so angry with him that she slammed on the brakes in the middle of the rain slicked street and jumped out of her car.

She looked up at the clock tower which sat atop the town's public library.

"Look it's been a long night and it's almost... eight fifteen?"

"That clock hasn't moved my whole life," Henry said after exiting the vehicle. "Time's frozen here."

Emma was taken aback by his words. He explained that it was the evil queen's curse. She had brought fairy tale characters from the Enchanted Forest and they were now trapped, frozen in time in Storybrooke, Maine.

"Really? That's what you're going with?" Emma replied completely unwilling to believe him.

Henry also told her that no one could leave town, if they try bad things happened to them. Emma got directions to Henry's house by a man walking his dog. It turned out that Henry was the mayor's son. The helpful man was Archie, Henry's psychologist.

"He doesn't seem cursed to me," Emma said.

Archie didn't know he was cursed, no one in Storybrooke knew who they were. Archie, Henry said, was really Jiminy Cricket. Emma wasn't sure if Henry was crazy or just had a very vivid imagination, but the whole thing seemed just too weird.

* * *

LONDON, ENGLAND

Vidia landed on the window sill of the Griffith's London home with a thud. She was out of breath and nearly exhausted. Vidia was the fastest fast flyer in all of Pixie Hollow and she loved to push herself as fast as she could. Today, though, she flew faster than she ever had before. The wind would usually whistle in her ears when she took flight, today it screamed. And for the first time in her life she cursed her long ponytail because it slowed her down.

It took Vidia a few moments to catch her breath. No one was in the house, which mean that Dr. Griffiths was at his office and Lizzy was in school. Lizzy would be surrounded by children and adults and the fairy could be easily detected by any of them. Besides, Lizzy had no authority to offer the summer house to them. Her father, though, did. After a few moments she took flight again and went to find Dr. Griffiths.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

When the yellow bug pulled up to the large mansion where the mayor lived, Henry begged not to be left at the house. He claimed that he only had a mother and she was evil. She didn't love him, she only pretended to.

"Kid," Emma said worriedly, "I'm sure that's not true." Emma never had parents and in her mind the boy had no idea how good he had it.

Mayor Regina Mills, a woman with shoulder length dark hair greeted the boy, taking him into her arms. A man was at the house, as well. He was smartly dressed with a neat beard and a badge on his shirt. No doubt the local police.

"Henry, where have you been?" Mayor Mills asked, quite worried.

"I found my real mom," Henry yelled angrily before running into the house. Regina was rather stunned by his announcement.

"You're his birth mother?" she asked.

"Hi," Emma replied with a sheepish smile.

Mayor Mills offered Emma some apple cider, but after the day she had Emma wanted something a little stronger. Regina poured the woman a stiff drink and they two spoke for a few moments. Regina was worried that Emma might want to be part of Henry's life again, but she was just here to drop him off. Regina described how hard it was to be the mayor and a single mom, describing it has like having two full time jobs. She was strict with Henry because she wanted the best for him.

"That doesn't make me evil, does it?" Regina asked Ms. Swan.

Emma admitted that he probably got the idea from his book of fairy tales. For Regina, this was the first she had heard of this book. Ms. Swan told her how Henry thought everyone in town was a character from those fairy tales.

When she left, Emma didn't have a very good feeling in the pit of her stomach. She turned and saw Henry peering out at her from his bedroom window. But she didn't want to be a part of his life and he a good place to live. She got back into her old VW Beetle and headed back towards Boston. On the road out of town she noticed that Henry left his book of fairy tales in her car.

"Sneaky bastard," she whispered to herself. The boy knew she would have to turn around and go back. Just then Emma looked up and saw a wolf standing in the middle of the road. She swerved to avoid it and crashed into the town's historic sign that read _Welcome to Storybrooke_.

* * *

THE WINTER WOODS, NEVER LAND

In the Winter Woods Lord Milori was inspecting snowflakes for the coming winter season. "Excellent work, everyone. You have truly outdone yourselves," he said complimenting the snowflake fairies who fashioned the delicate sculptures of ice crystals. "This year's winter season promises to be the most beautiful in some time."

"Thank you, Lord Milori," the snowflake fairies replied.

Gliss, a frost fairy who was stationed at the border between warm and winter today rushed towards the snowflake factory. Her normally cheerful demeanor was different today, she looked frightened and desperate. "Lord Milori, Lord Milori," she called out to him.

"What is it, Gliss? Why aren't at the border?" he asked her.

She flew to him and in a hushed tone told him, "Queen Clarion is at the bridge. She must speak with you immediately. She says we have to evacuate Never Land immediately."

Confused by what Gliss told him, Milori jumped onto his trusted mount, a snow owl with a jeweled necklace and sped off towards the bridge where the animals and warm fairies crossed into the winter region of Pixie Hollow. Gliss stayed at his side, worried by what little she already knew.

At the crossing he saw the Queen in all her regal splendor, but as he approached he could see how frightened she was. "My queen, what seems to bother you this day?" Milori said dismounting his owl.

"We must evacuate Pixie Hollow and leave the island of Never Land," she replied with a tremble in her voice.

"Why? What has happened?"

Clarion explained the terrible cursed spell that Queen Regina had released in a distant realm that would soon find its way to the Hollow. In as much detail as she could, Clarion told him what would happen to their beloved home and to anyone who was not safely away when the curse was to arrive in two days' time.

"You must gather your winter fairies and leave this place as soon as possible," she said desperately. "You can head north to the frozen mainland there."

"We cannot leave this place," Milori told her matter-of-factly. "It is still summer and the temperatures beyond the winter woods are too warm for us to survive. Our wings will break and all the winter fairies will fall into the sea and drown. We have no choice but to stay."

Clarion gasped in horror. She had not considered this when racing to the border to warn the love of her life. She was going to lose him a second time. Tears began to well in her eyes as she spoke. "Can you use the balloon carriers that Tinker Bell has devised for us? Then you won't…"

"It is still too warm for our winter wings," Milori said, cutting her off. "The weather will still be too warm for us to survive. Save your people. Save yourself, my dearest Ree."

"I can't… I can't leave you here."

"What's this?" Milori saw another fairy careening through the Autumn Woods as fast as her wings could carry her.

"Queen Clarion. Lord Milori. I have an idea," Tinker Bell yelled as she reached the border bridge where her wings first sparkled all those seasons ago, which lead to the discovery of her fraternal sister, Periwinkle. The little tinker fairy was dressed in her winter clothes and was carrying several rolled sheets of paper.

"What is it, Tinker Bell?" Clarion asked trying to wipe the tears from her eyes and face.

"Ice gondolas," the tinker fairy announced unspooling several pages with designs. "It occurred to me that winter fairies won't be able to fly out of here because it's still too warm outside of Never Land. So I came up with a design for ice gondolas that can be fitted to the balloon carriers."

"The ice will melt too quickly for us to reach any serviceable destination." Milori said, but the energized little tinker wasn't about to give up so easily.

"Not with this design. See?" she said showing the pages to the two leaders. "First we use reeds to create a form. Then we use grasses, hay or even pine needles for structural integrity of the ice. We add in some maple syrup and sawdust from Tinker's Nook, mix it all into the water to create sludge and then the glacier fairies can freeze it into a gondola form. The ice won't melt for weeks; you'll have plenty of time to sail north."

"And the ice from the gondolas will provide enough cold temperatures to keep our wings from breaking," Milori finished. "What a brilliant idea."

"Tinker Bell, begin immediately," Clarion said. "I will have Fairy Mary continue overseeing the construction of the Balloon Carriers on our side."

"Flitterific!" Tinker Bell yelled out. "Rosetta and the garden fairies have already started collecting everything we need to make the forms and sludge. They will have several bunches here at the log bridge in a couple of hours."

"I'll post winter fairies at the border to receive the materials," Milori added.

Tinker Bell flitted across the border where Gliss frosted the tinker fairy's wings. With that done Tinker Bell zipped off to the Frost Forest to enlist the aid of Periwinkle and the other winter fairies.

"May we speak privately, Gliss," Milori asked the frost fairy. She fluttered back out of earshot. Milori turned to face his beautiful love.

"I won't see you again, will I?" Clarion said, this realization setting in. If the warm fairies went to the mainland of England while the winter fairies went north towards the distant lands of Norway or Iceland Clarion and Milori would once again be separated, only this time permanently.

"If Pixie Hollow is to be destroyed with no hope of restoring it, then this is indeed goodbye forever," he told her, with a great sadness in his voice. He had spoken the words "goodbye forever" before, but both were overjoyed when after many centuries those words turned out to be false. This time however, there seemed to be no way to render these words meaningless.

_If I could I would wish all this away just for you, my lovely Ree_, he wanted to tell her. _I would sacrifice myself a thousand times over just to keep you and your fairies safe if that is what it required._ But he could not bring himself to say such fantasies because they would change nothing of their present situation. These would be their last moments together for all eternity.

Clarion and Milori stared into each other's eyes longingly, desiring at least one more day to be with each other. To share each other's love, but it was not to be. "I will never forget you, my dearest love," he said to her, "you will always be in my heart."

"And you will always be in my heart, my beloved Milori," she replied. "We may be separated, but our love will never perish."

He took her beautiful face in his hands, wiping a tear away with his thumb. The lord of winter drew his queen close to him and they kissed their last kiss. A gentle, loving, but passionate goodbye said not with words. Their fears and anxieties instead communicated through the trembling of their lips.

Finally Clarion slowly began to back away, she had so many responsibilities and they could not wait a second longer. As his hands fell from her lovely face they slid down her arms and into her hands. There they held each other a moment longer before Clarion and Milori finally had to let go and he watched as she started back to the Pixie Dust Tree.

Milori stayed at the bridge as the loveliest woman he had ever known and desired slipped away. He kept his gaze on her as she drifted further and further away until she was little more than a glint of light in the distance. The lord of winter stayed perhaps unwilling to move. Or perhaps simply to make one last memory of Clarion, one that he hoped, prayed, pleaded would not fade over time.

_How can this happen again?_ he asked himself. _How can our love be so ill fated that we shall always be parted, to never know a happy ending?_ Unbeknownst to the lord of winter that was the very point of the curse; to take away everyone's happily ever after.

* * *

**Whew, that was a lot of writing. I'm putting in a good deal of the first episode to help set up the story for those unfamiliar with the tv show. Further chapters won't go into such much detail about the episodes as I will be focusing on the stories of the fairies who are trapped in Storybrooke.**

**Thanks to everyone who has been reading. Please tell me what you think in a review. I would really like to hear from you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke  
****A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover  
Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 3**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma woke to the sound of whistling. When she opened her eyes she was in a jail cell. In the cell next to her was a short, stout man who was the source of the whistling. He wore a work shirt with the name "Leroy" embroidered on it. He gave off the distinct odor of alcohol. Outside of the jail cell was an older man in a work uniform. He spoke with a distinct European accent. His name was Marco she learned from the conversation he had with her and Leroy. Then the sheriff came into the stationhouse with a girl in hand.

"Okay, sit down," the sheriff told her with his distinct Irish brogue. "I've already called your mother and she'll be here any minute to pick you up."

The girl, Emma judged, was probably in her late teens or early 20's, her raven hair was pulled back in a ponytail that hung down to her shoulder blades. She was dressed entirely in black. She also sported several piercings in her nose, lips, cheeks, eyebrows and ears. When told that her mother was coming over to pick her up the girl just huffed at him and crossed her arms in disgust.

Emma didn't understand why the mother was being called to the station. This girl was over eighteen and parents were no longer legally responsible. _Maybe that is just how things are in this town_, Emma thought. Family just stuck close together. It reminded her how much she hated her own parents. They had left her on the side of the highway as an infant, like a piece of trash to be thrown away.

"You don't know how lucky you are to have a mother who still cares about you," Emma told the girl.

"Oh please," she replied cynically in a smoky voice. Emma saw another piercing on her tongue.

"Good, you're awake," the sheriff said when he heard Emma's voice. "Regina's drinks are stronger than you thought," he continued with the explanation that she had crashed into the town's historic sign as a result of drinking and driving. Emma told him that she had seen a wolf in the road, but the sheriff didn't believe her, wolves didn't live in or near Storybrooke.

Regina stormed into the Sheriff's Office, "Graham?" She caught site of Emma in the jail cell. "What is _she_ doing here?"

Regina refocused on what was important, Henry had run away again. Emma asked if he had any friends who might have taken him in. She was pained to learn that Henry had no friends. He was a lonely child. In her job as a bail bondswoman she had become particularly adept at finding people who didn't want to be found. Emma offered to help find him in exchange being let out of the jail cell.

Just as the trio were about to leave the Sheriff's Office, a woman that Emma judged to be in her mid-forties came into the jailhouse. She was rather tall, had honey brown hair and fair skin with eyes as blue as sapphires. Dressed in work jeans and a plaid flannel shirt, the woman wore a ball cap that read Kensington General Contracting. She was accompanied by a blonde, teenaged girl with a cherubic face and who also possessed the same blue eyes as her mother.

"There you are," the woman said to the young, dark haired girl Graham had brought in earlier. "I'm sorry, Sheriff. I just don't know what's gotten into her lately."

"That's okay, Mrs. Kensington, just don't let it happen again," Graham told her.

"How much is bail?" the Kensington woman asked, looking terribly worried.

"Valerie's not under arrest, The Rabbit Hole just asked me to remove her from the premises," Graham answered. "She was hustling pool players for money. I thought I should let you know."

Mrs. Kensington glared at the raven haired girl as Graham spoke. "Thank you, Sheriff. It won't happen again."

"Your daughter can't seem to keep herself out of trouble, Claire," Mayor Mills growled. "Maybe you need to keep a closer eye on her."

The bitter irony was not lost on Emma.

"Valerie is an adult, Madam Mayor," Sheriff Graham informed her.

"Well, it seems like you did a bang up job raising her," Regina snarled at Claire. She looked at the little blonde girl standing behind her mother. "I hope your other one doesn't turn out the same way."

"Yes, Mayor Mills, I mean, no, Mayor Mills, Tina won't. What I mean is…" Claire tried to answer, looking every bit cowed by the glaring Regina.

"Well, what _do_ you mean?" Regina said angrily.

"Valeria hasn't been the same since her father died," Claire answered. "She's taken it very hard."

That's when Regina went nose to nose with the mother. "Her father died eight years ago, she needs to get over herself. Now the next time Valerie pulls that kind of stunt I'll have the Sheriff throw her in jail. Maybe then she'll straighten up."

"I understand," Claire said, her eyes looking down at the floor.

As Emma, Sheriff Graham and Regina left the station, Ms. Swan watched as the visibly shaken widowed mother of two took her daughters to an old, weather beaten work truck. Its bed was filled with tools for home construction and repair. The company name which was stenciled on the door had faded badly, but it was still readable. She could see Claire practically having to drag Valerie by the arm to the truck and then beg her to get in.

"You were pretty harsh with her, weren't you?" Emma asked Regina.

"I've been a mother for ten years, how long have you been a mother? Oh, that's right, none," Regina answered hotly. "I know a bad mother when I see one, Ms. Swan, and Claire isn't going to win any awards in this lifetime."

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVERLAND

Queen Clarion and Fairy Mary were busy overseeing the coordination and preparations for the evacuation of Pixie Hollow. Problems arose almost from the start. Once word got out what was to happen, every guild started bucking to be the first off the island. Each one tried to make an argument for why their guild should be first.

The dust keepers insisted that pixie dust had to be delivered to the new site for the colony so everyone could fly and use their talents properly. The cooking and baking talents insisted that food would be necessary to feed everyone who was to establish the new colony, so they should go first. The animal fairies argued that saving their animal friends was most important, while the garden fairies wanted to move their seeds as soon as possible to start new gardens right away. The fast flyers wanted to move their pollen off the island swiftly. The water fairies claimed it was necessary to establish water resources for cooking, bathing and drinking. These were all strong and legitimate arguments.

The queen and Fairy Mary started out by setting priorities based on need. First, a new Pixie Dust Tree had to be established. Zarina explained that while the existing maple could not be converted, a new Pixie Dust Tree could be grown on site. She and her alchemy students and a few garden fairies were given top priority.

Second, a governmental body needed to be formed to ensure chaos and anarchy did not ensue. Sunflower, the Minister of Summer was tapped along with her staff to do just that.

Third, food and water would be needed to feed everyone who would be working to receive shipments. The cooking and baking guild was split into three groups, one to stay and cook here, a second to pack up their guild for transport and a third group would go to the mainland to erect a new kitchen to feed the fairies working there. A contingent of water fairies was to accompany them to design an aqueduct system that would transport the needed water to the kitchens, baths, and to the new Pixie Dust Depot.

Lastly, a small group from each major talent group would go an ahead to receive shipments from their respective guilds. A new colony could not be built in a day; much of what was to be airlifted would quickly go into storage for the time being. However, everything being shipped was sensitive and had to be handled by those who were familiar with it so nothing would be lost.

The massive airlift operation was being staged by the shore in Springtime Square. Doves were readied with satchels and knapsacks. The first fairies in the group quickly loaded down the birds with all the essentials to perform their assigned duties on the mainland. The first of the balloon carriers arrived and were filled with as much pixie dust as was currently available. Any bird or carrier with room to spare was given the task of taking much needed food, seeds or pollen as could be added. All they lacked was a destination.

**~O~**

THE WINTER WOODS, NEVER LAND

Lord Milori was busy making the same kinds of evacuation preparations with the assistance of Snowflake, the Minister of Winter. Two of his dust keepers were students of Zarina's school of Pixie Dust Alchemy and left immediately to establish a new Pixie Dust Tree.

It was decided that the Faroe Islands north of Ireland was the best compromise between a cold weather settlement and nearness to England. The Faroe Islands had a subarctic climate, just cold enough for the Winter Fairies to survive if they found a place high atop a mountain where the air was cooler. Milori and Snowflake still had the responsibility of bringing the winter season to the mainland and the Faroe Islands would be close enough for them to do that. Furthermore, the Shetland Islands lay in between which could be used as an emergency landing spot if it were ever necessary.

Milori couldn't visit Queen Clarion from there, but perhaps the Minister of Winter could deliver letters to her whenever the winter fairies traveled to the England. As he thought about this possibility, he remembered all the grand moments he had here with his beloved Ree. Their first date occurred by the shores of the frozen lake. The couple took many owl rides over the mountains. It was atop one of them where he showed his love the luminous Aurora Borealis. And then there was the Lord of Winter's retreat where he once took the queen. It was there that they shared a more _intimate_ moment.

He sighed, this was his home and he would miss it terribly. He would miss Clarion even more.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

To find Henry's trail Emma checked his computer, but the boy was smart. He cleared out the email inbox and deleted his browsing history. Regina thought this was another dead end, but Emma was smarter than a ten year old. She resorted to her thumb drive. She plugged it into the USB port on Henry's computer and let the recovery utility on the portable drive work its magic.

Whenever a Windows based operating system saves data to a hard drive it breaks it up into small blocks and stores them where ever it can find free space. To remember where of these blocks are located, the OS creates a file table pointing to every block on the drive. When a user deletes a file, Windows simply deletes the pointers in the file table, but it does not erase the actual data. It remains in blocks marked as free space until they are over written by new data. Emma's data recovery utility searched for that kind of "erased" information.

Searching through Henry's browsing history she found a website he had visited which helped adopted children find their birth mothers. It was pretty expensive, too.

"Henry has a credit card?" Emma asked Regina.

"He's ten," the woman replied coldly.

"Well, he used one." Emma opened the payment receipt and found that the card Henry used was issued to one Mary Margaret Blanchard. Ms. Blanchard was Henry's school teacher.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

A streak of pixie dust shot through the trees and crash landed on the ground at the queen's feet. It broke Clarion from her worries and guilt laden self-loathing. The figure that emerged from the dirt and dust was Vidia, her fastest fast flyer. She was coughing and gasping for breath. Two of the queen's helpers assisted Vidia to a place free from the dust and where she could sit to regain her breath. The queen looked at the fast flyer with apprehension. Vidia gave her queen a smile and an affirming nod, nothing else needed to be said. The Griffiths had offered their summer home to the fairies.

When Tinker Bell made accidental First Contact with the girl, Lizzy Griffiths, Vidia was sure it would be disaster for the fairies of Never Land. Instead it proved to be a wonderfully beneficial friendship that was now paying off in unexpected ways. Clarion flew up into the air to gather the attention of those who were working to evacuate the island.

"Fairies!" Clarion shouted over the racket they made. "Fairies please!"

Quickly the chatter died down.

"Vidia has returned with joyous news," Clarion announced. "The Griffiths have graciously opened their doors to us. We have a new home."

The crowd cheered with a reinvigorating sense of hope. At the queen's signal the first squadron of doves laden with food and pixie dust launched into the air. They made their bearing for the mainland, the Minister of Summer leading the way. Joining the doves were hundreds of fairies taking wing. They all carried at least something needed. Several balloon carriers loaded to their max capacity were right behind. Queen Clarion smiled a bit when the birds took flight. She smiled until she realized that soon they were all to become refugees from their own home. Yet another reminder of her mistakes come back to haunt her.

**~O~**

When Vidia had recovered from her journey she flew inland to rejoin her guild. Flying over she noticed, as expected, that all the guilds were working feverishly to evacuate the island. What struck her as odd was that members of other guilds were mixed in with the Tinkers, Garden, Animal, Light and Water talents. Pixie Hollow was home to several major and minor talent guilds. Some talents like the spiderweb-untanglers, tree bark grading, fern spotting, dandelion fluffing, hole-in-cheese punching and the fairies who tucked you in at night and read stories to help you get to sleep had little or nothing to do. They were assigned to help with other guilds who had too much work and not enough manpower.

Members of more than two dozen minor talents were seen at Tinker's Nook helping to build balloon carriers or deliver newly made baskets, satchels and knapsacks to the staging area. The garden fairies also benefited with extra hands to lighten their own heavy load as they gathered seeds and collected materials for Tinker Bell's balloon carriers and ice gondolas.

When Vidia arrived at the pollen gardens, she found every available member of her talent guild gathering as much pollen as they could. On the paths below, members of minor guilds were loading up mouse carts with the filled pollen pots. It was all so disconcerting to her, but nothing slowed her down. She zipped right into place and started gathering pollen with the rest of her guild mates.

* * *

STOREYBROOK, MAINE

Ms. Blanchard was teaching her class how to build birdhouses. She told them that they were free and that the houses were for the birds to nest.

"They're loyal creatures," she said releasing a bluebird back out into the yard where it happily entered a birdhouse hanging in the nearby tree. "If you love them and they love you, they will always find you."

Just as class was letting out, Mayor Mills stormed into the room and confronted Mary Margaret Blanchard.

"Did you give Henry your credit card so he can find the woman who gave him up for adoption?" Regina asked in a shrill voice, motioning to Emma.

Ms. Blanchard had no idea what the mayor was talking about. She checked her pocket book and found that her credit card was missing. Henry had stolen it from her when she wasn't looking. "Clever boy," Ms. Blanchard whispered to herself. "I should never have given him that book."

"What in the hell is this book I keep hearing about?" Regina asked harshly.

The book was a collection of fairy tales. Henry was a smart and creative boy who was very lonely. Ms. Blanchard felt he needed it. Regina answered that what Henry needed was a firm grip on reality. The mayor turned and walked out, angry. "Have a nice trip back to Boston," she snapped to Emma while knocked some books off a table.

Helping Ms. Blanchard, Emma was told that this book helped give Henry a sense of hope for the future. A belief in happy endings that he desperately needed. As an adopted child, Ms. Blanchard said, he wrestled with the question of why his parents gave him up.

"I'm so sorry," Mary Margaret gasped, as it dawned on her to whom she was speaking. "I don't mean to judge."

Actually, Emma could relate, it was a question she had asked herself nearly every day.

"You know where he is, don't you?" Emma asked.

Mary Margaret had a good idea. Henry could probably be found at his "castle."

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

Throughout the day and well into the night, a steady stream of doves, fairies and balloon carriers shipped every bit of Pixie Hollow, piece by piece from Never Land Island to the meadow in front of the Griffiths' summer home. Dr. Griffiths took a few sick days to help the fairies arrive and settle in. He even provided a nice surprise, two tables full of sweets, bread and fruit so that the fairies could eat and keep up their strength. Lizzy provided fairy sized servings of tea. The black tea normally consumed by the English had the added benefit of caffeine, a stimulant that kept fairy wings flying and their minds sharp.

**~O~**

Early the next morning, with the sun just peeking out over the horizon, more doves were ready to take to the skies from Springtime Square. They had worked long hours throughout the day and night to deliver as much as they possibly could to the mainland in the short time they had. Now the birds would take animal carriers.

"Here you go," Fawn said leading one of the mice into the carrier which had been made from a hollowed out gourd. The mouse, named Cheese by the fairies, hopped in and Fawn secured the door behind him. "There, all safe and sound." Fawn nuzzled the frightened little mouse for comfort. She did the same at the next animal carrier where Cheese's close friend, Cheddar was being loaded. The two saw each other and squeaked. _See you on the other side_, they were saying.

At the signal, the birds launched into the air. Most of the animals were not particularly worried, they had made this trek several times before, usually during the summer season when they went to camp. Cheese, however, was very nervous. These birds were not rested, they were exhausted. And rumors spread that some of the doves were dying mid-flight from that exhaustion.

Cheddar, who was close by wasn't worried at all. He gave an approving nod to Cheese and even seemed to be enjoying the ride. Cheese was worried for his friend, his bird looked particularly frazzled. Then the little heart that beat within the bird carrying Cheese burst. It was dead instantly. Cheddar, who had been carefree during the flight watched in horror as his best friend plummeted into the unforgiving waters below. Cheddar made it to the mainland, but he was inconsolable after that.

**~O~**

Word got back to the queen that some of the doves had fallen out of the sky with their cargo. The birds were dying from being overworked through the day and night, flying back and forth nonstop with only very short breaks for food and water. One report said that a bird with an animal carrier fell into the waters not far from Never Land. No survivors were found.

Queen Clarion acknowledged this and mourned the loss of the poor animals. "Please, say nothing to the animal fairies. They do not need the distraction," she told the scout who made the report.

The queen never once looked worried, she maintained a veneer of calm and regal composure. She was the very model of strength and self-control. Clarion knew that if the queen remained confident so would everyone else.

Inside, though, her stomach twisted in knots. How could she possibly know that a small error in judgment made so long ago would lead to this catastrophe? With most of her fairies either on the mainland or in transit, Clarion took a moment to return to the Pixie Dust Tree claiming she needed to gather her own things for when she left that evening.

In truth, Clarion could no longer maintain the artifice of a strong and confident leader when she was tormented by so much guilt. She went into her bedchamber and closed the door. Clarion looked into the mirror at her own reflection, but what she actually saw was a queen who had failed miserably to protect her people. Pixie Hollow was at an end, Never Land would likely be destroyed, and the Indians, Lost Boys, pirates and the cannibals who all lived on the island were displaced. And she had lost her lover, Lord Milori, forever. She stared into the mirror and told herself, "This is all my fault."

Her face twisted from the shame of it all, tears streamed down her cheeks, her mouth crinkled into a frown and she fell onto the floor, sobbing at what she had wrought.

* * *

**Well now you've gotten a quick glimpse of some of the Disney Fairies in their Storybrooke identities. For those keeping score: **

**Claire Kensington = Queen Clarion**

**Valerie Kensington = Vidia**

**Tina Kensington = Tinker Bell**

**I chose the name Kensington because of its importance in the Peter Pan mythology. I hope you liked that little touch.**

**I'll introduce a few more Disney Fairies later. I'm working on Chapter four which will be the last for episode one. I hope you have been enjoying this "episode" so far, please leave a review letting me know what you think. **

**Thank you for reading.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 1, Chapter 4**

* * *

THE PIXIE DUST TREE. PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

Clarion's four helpers found her crumpled on the floor, weeping uncontrollably. They rushed to her side and helped to the bed.

"My queen, what ails you?" Cinda asked.

Clarion turned away from them. She could not allow even her personal helpers to see her this way.

"I'm sorry. I have… I have failed all of you. I have lost my strength."

"No, my queen, you have not," Lisel answered.

"In your more than thousand year reign, you have endured more heartbreak and horrors than any other queen in Pixie Hollow history," Grace told her. "Throughout it all you have been our pillar, our shining star. No fairy would blame you for a moment of release. You deserve it more than any of us."

Clarion smiled through her tears. "Thank you, Grace. I am fortunate to have such loyal and wise helpers."

"It is our pleasure to serve you, Your Highness" Rhia answered.

"Why don't you gather your personal effects and prepare to evacuate on the next transport to the mainland," the queen instructed.

"We shall remain at your side till the very last," Grace said defiantly.

The queen felt her heart grow stronger. "Thank you."

**~O~**

When the four helpers exited her room, Rhia seemed distraught.

"What is it?" Grace asked her.

"If the queen can no longer cope, then all is lost," Rhia answered.

"Our queen has a formidable constitution," Cinda told her, "but she is not made of stone. Even Queen Clarion needs a shoulder to cry on once in a while. Do not worry, our beloved regent will not fail us. She will recover and be our beacon of hope once more."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma found Henry at "his castle." It was an old, wooden playhouse on the beach. Henry believed that things would change in Storybrooke once Emma arrived. That she would be the savior and the final battle would begin.

"I'm not fighting any battles kid," Emma told him. But Henry insisted that this was her destiny, to bring back everyone's happy endings. Emma dismissed him rather rudely. Henry told her she didn't need to push him away. He understood why Emma gave him up. To give him a better chance. It was the same reason Snow White gave her up.

"I'm not the savior and I'm not in any book," Emma insisted, but he was right about one thing. She did want a better life for him and she reminded Henry that his adopted mother was doing the best she could.

"Please don't take me back there, my life sucks," Henry pleaded. Emma told him how bad she had it growing up. She was left on the side of the freeway by her birth parents who did not even have the decency to take her to a hospital. She had a foster family until she was three years old when they had a child of their own. Then they sent her back into the system. Emma spent most of her childhood in and out of foster homes. Many of those homes took her in only because of the money they were paid to do so. At least Henry had a real home and real mother.

The boy told Emma that her parents did not leave her on the side of the freeway like she thought. She had come to this world through a magic wardrobe, a portal from the Enchanted Forest where she was born. The side of the highway was where Emma had come through as a baby. Emma Swan thought he was crazy and took him home. He pleaded for her to stay, at least one week so he could prove he wasn't. Emma just wanted to go back to her old life.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

It was mid-afternoon of the second day, the curse would be here soon. Rosetta, the garden fair who had fallen in love with Sled, the winter animal sparrow man, could barely contain her grief. Like the queen she was going to be separated from the man she loved so dearly. Ro had spent the last two days working harder than she ever had before, gathering all that her garden fairies would need to establish a new Pixie Hollow on the mainland. In spite of it all, her mind kept going back to Sled and how much she would miss him.

Rosetta and her friends Silvermist, the water talent fairy; Fawn, the animal fairy; Iridessa, the light talent fairy; and Vidia, the fast flyer were waiting for the next squadron of doves to return from the mainland so they could load them with more cargo. When the birds arrived, the small group of friends and the many other fairies and sparrow men who were in Springtime Square leapt into action. They hustled animals, insects and arachnids of every type into satchels and carriers. More dust arrived from the depot and was poured into pots which were loaded into returning balloon carriers. The small band of fairies were working like a well-oiled machine. The turnaround was swift and the birds, balloon carriers and fairies took flight back to the mainland.

During this time Rosetta quietly debated in her head what she should do. Going to the mainland meant she would be surrounded by her closest friends, her guild and a temperate climate that was suitable for a warm weather fairy. However, in all likelihood she might never see her boyfriend again. On the other hand, going with the winter fairies meant being with Sled, but she would be confined to a wintery climate and separated from her guild and her closest friends. Rosetta also risked losing her wings if they were not frosted at all times or kept covered in a winter coat. At least she would always be with the man she loved so much.

No matter what she decided, Rosetta would have to leave people she cared about behind. This was the most heartbreaking moment of her life.

OFF THE COAST OF NEVER LAND ISLAND

The Blue Fairy was running low on fairy dust. Regina's dark curse was pushing through her protection spell and the sun was still high. Blue put as much of her magic as she could into the spell to reinforce it, but she doubted it would last much longer.

She looked back at the island in the distance. She was working out in her head how it was that there were two Tinker Bell fairies. Her own Green Fairy, who apparently preferred that name over her given one, and the cherubic young creature who lived here.

While contemplating this conundrum she saw an old sailing ship leaving the island. It flew the Skull and Crossbones. It looked vaguely familiar to her. Not unlike the ship that Killian Jones captained. Then she spied a young boy dressed in green flying over and away from the island. A handful of other young boys followed him. She recognized the one in green as Peter Pan. The others were probably The Lost Boys. At first, she was afraid. Pan was an evil creature with very powerful dark magic. That is when it dawned on her that this island was Never Land. But it was nothing like the Never Land she had heard about.

Blue deduced that she had not crossed into another realm from her own reality, but into a parallel reality. An entirely different universe where duplicate realms existed. The Blue Fairy was the most powerful fairy in her own realm and leader of the other fairies. Queen Clarion must be her equivalent in this place. This was the most logical conclusion that explained how two similar, yet vastly different Tinker Bells could exist.

Either Regina or Rumpelstiltskin must have duped someone here into giving them some of their Pixie Dust so the dark curse could come into this world and destroy this duplicate Never Land. Now the only question that remained was why.

WINTER WOODS, NEVER LAND

Tinker Bell finished her work in the cold season. The last of the ice gondolas had been frozen and were being fastened to balloon carriers made with materials from the warm seasons.

"Thank you," Milori told the young tinker. "You've served your queen well and have saved thousands of fairies."

She bowed. "Thank you, Lord Milori, but I was also thinking of my sister. I'll never see her again. I wanted to make sure Periwinkle made it to safety. At least I'll have that."

"I understand. But do not worry, child, we aren't going so far afield," Milori told her. "The winter fairies will stay close enough to bring in our season. You will be able to visit Periwinkle every winter on the mainland."

Tinker Bell's heart soared. She would also bring the good news to Bobble and Rosetta, both of whom had a loved one from the cold season. Bobble was dating Gliss, the perpetually cheerful frost fairy while Rosetta was happily in an exclusive relationship with Sled. Yet Tink's heart felt terribly for Milori. As head of state for the winter fairies he could not leave the colony. Milori and Clarion would be parted forever and no amount of fairy pluck could change that arrangement this time.

**~O~**

Tinker Bell visited her sister one last time before returning to the warm side. She still had to collect her things from Tinker's Nook to transport them to the new colony in Lizzy's meadow. After a warm embrace the two sisters spoke their tearful goodbyes.

"I'll miss you, Tink," Peri said.

"Milori told me you won't be going too far, you could visit Lizzy and I for Christmas or New Years," Tinker Bell replied.

"It won't be the same," Periwinkle insisted. "I'll barely have more than a couple of weeks. Bringing in winter takes time and we have to go back before spring arrives or our wings will break."

"How far will you be going? Maybe I can visit?"

"The Faroe Islands," Peri replied. "They're about two hundred and sixty kilometers North of Scotland. The trip will take at least three weeks both ways." Peri's eyes began to tear up even more. "It will be too far."

"At least we can celebrate our Arrival Day parties together," Tink said.

"No, we can't. Yours is in winter, mine is in spring, remember? My dandelion got caught in a tree."

"We can still celebrate it together," Tink said. "I'll make sure there is plenty of cake to go around."

"I know you will," Peri answered. There just wasn't the right thing to say. Tinker Bell and Periwinkle had celebrated so many holidays together since they learned of each other's existence: the Springtime Carnival, Pixie Hollow games, the Winter Festival, the Celebration of the Seasons, Summer Jubilee and the Autumn Revelry. Peri also loved to attend the annual tinker guild dance. Neither had missed the other's Arrival Day celebrations, either. Now would be the first.

"I can hitch a ride with you and the winter fairies," Tink said, trying to find a good solution. "Then I'll just take a balloon carrier back home."

"You have too much work to do for spring," Peri reminded her.

"Then that's it," Tink whispered. "Well visit each other when the humans celebrate Christmas."

"Yeah, I'll bring plenty of presents."

"So will I, Peri."

The two girls hugged each other, not wanting the moment to end. Tinker Bell and Periwinkle were unique among their people. Sisters who shared a very special bond. The fairies of Pixie Hollow were born of a baby's first laugh. They had no parents or uncles or aunts or cousins. Only the queen could be born from another queen. That was the only exception. It was a rare occasion when a laugh split in two, as it had for Tink and Peri. They were blood relatives, the only fairies on the island who could say that.

Before parting for good, Tink and Peri exchanged items. Small portraits of the other so they would always remember. The sisters hugged once more and then went their own ways.

"Please be safe," Tink said under her breath. Peri had said the same thing.

**~O~**

On her way out of the Winter Castle, Tinker Bell bumped into Rosetta. She was dressed in her winter clothes.

"Going to say goodbye to Sled?" Tinker Bell asked. Her own eyes puffy from all the tears shed saying farewell to Periwinkle.

Rosetta stopped. She looked at Tinker Bell and then said something that shocked the tinker fairy.

"No, I'm going with him," Rosetta said.

Tinker Bell gasped. "You're what?" A quick glance behind the garden fairy revealed several pieces of luggage tied together with string and sprinkled with dust so they would float.

"I can't be away from him forever, Tink," Rosetta said.

Tinker Bell explained how the winter fairies would be pretty close. Ro could visit Sled every winter for Christmas with Lizzy and her father.

"Oh, Sugarplum, I can't wait all year just to get two or three weeks with him," Rosetta answered. "I'll miss you and all of my friends, but I just can't be away from the man I love. Queen Clarion might have the stomach to do it, but I don't. I just don't."

Tinker Bell understood, she wanted desperately to stay with Periwinkle, but she loved Terence so much it would hurt to be away from him. She learned that the hard way while she was with Peter Pan.

"Goodbye," Tink said. Her voice was trembling. She was already emotionally spent and now Rosetta was leaving, too. Tears poured down Tink's cheeks.

"Goodbye, but I'll visit every winter, I promise," Rosetta said, giving Tink a big hug before moving on to the evacuation site for the winter fairies.

Everything she loved was falling apart for Tinker Bell. If she ever found out who this Regina person was she wanted only two things. To find out why and then punch her in the nose.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma Swan returned Henry to his home and adopted mother. She explained to Regina about her silly wish on her birthday to not be alone. Regina lit into Emma, telling her that this was not an invitation back into his life. Henry was hers now. Emma had no legal right to him and Ms. Swan no longer had a place in his life anymore. Then Regina threatened her.

"If you don't leave for Boston tonight I'll destroy you if it's the last thing I do."

This troubled Emma deeply because it gave Henry's pleas some credibility. She worried for his well-being in the care of this woman.

"Do you love him?" Emma asked, speaking of Henry.

"What?" Regina said, confused.

"Do you love him?" Emma asked again.

"Of course I love him," Regina said before going into the house and closing the door. Emma wasn't convinced.

**~O~**

Rather than go back to Boston, Emma instead went to Granny's Inn and asked for a room. Here she found a young woman arguing with her grey haired grandmother. The young, attractive brunette was dressed in very revealing attire.

"I'm sorry my heart attack got in the way of your whoring your way down the east coast," the older woman bellowed angrily.

When they spotted Emma the grandmother put on a kindly face and offered a premium room at a regular price.

"How long will you be staying," the grandmother asked.

"A week."

"Name, please?"

"Emma."

"Emma! What a lovely name," came a voice from behind her. Ms. Swan swung around and spotted a well-dressed, but slithery looking man standing beside her. The two women who operated the inn were instantly afraid of him. Granny gave him a wad of rolled up money. It was the rent due on the place.

After the man left Emma wanted to know who he was. His name was Mr. Gold and he owned the local pawnshop. He was a lender of last resort and those who came to him for financial assistance signed ironclad contracts that were carefully worded in his favor. If anyone defaulted on a loan, Gold would foreclose or take possession of property put up for collateral the same day. He pretty much owned the town as a result. It also explained why the two women were so afraid of him.

* * *

OFF THE SHORE OF NEVER LAND ISLAND

The Blue Fairy could no longer contain the Dark Curse. Her spell was weakening and she had run out of her entire supply of fairy dust. She wished that the pixie dust here could work with her own magic wand. She could hold off the darkness indefinitely. It was not to be.

As the dark purple mist flowed through the portal between her universe and this one, Blue sped off to warn Queen Clarion of the impending demise of this island. The Blue Fairy hoped she had purchased enough time for these fairies to escape Regina's prison.

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

Clarion and her four helpers stood next to Fairy Mary, once more overseeing the evacuation. The fairies in the staging area saw her and instantly their hearts soared. "There she is," someone shouted. They all looked up at her and cheered.

"Did you get it all out of your system?" Fairy Mary asked quietly.

Clarion was flabbergasted. "How did you know?"

"We've spent too many centuries together as friends for me to not notice," Fairy Mary explained.

"I see. I am well, thank you, Mary."

The two friends exchanged a brief, knowing smile between them.

"Oh my," Fairy Mary gasped. "It's The Blue Fairy."

Clarion turned to see the visitor who had warned them.

"Your Highness," Blue said addressing Clarion, "I have exhausted my supply of fairy dust and the curse has broken through my barrier. It will arrive very soon. I apologize for not doing more."

"Do not apologize, Blue Fairy," Clarion replied. "You have given us a chance at survival. We can ask for no more."

Fairy Mary, upon hearing the news told everyone in the staging area to make ready to leave. This would be the last transport. "This is it everyone, get ready to fly to the mainland. Gather your personal things and wait for our signal. Hurry, hurry!"

She then directed two scouts to fly off and turn back anyone who was returning immediately. Then Mary had the fast flyers race across Pixie Hollow to sound the alarm. Anyone still toiling in the other seasons had to drop whatever they were doing, grab a few personal items and get to Springtime Square.

"Come with us, Blue Fairy," Clarion offered. "We can offer you safe haven from this curse."

"Thank you, Your Highness, but I cannot," Blue said. "I must go to where the curse has taken my people. To a realm without magic."

Clarion was stunned. "What realm possesses no magic?"

"I do not know, but when the curse is broken in twenty eight years by the savior, I need to be with my own kind. If I stay I shall be trapped here, in a different kind of prison. Isolated from them forever."

"Yes," Clarion said, her head held low, "I understand completely. Your people have a truly courageous leader."

"As do you yours, Your Highness."

With that, The Blue Fairy bowed and then flew towards the interior of Pixie Hollow. With little time left she decided to inspect this place. Learn how it differed from the other Never Land.

**~O~**

"Where is Rosetta?" Fairy Mary asked Silvermist.

"She's going with Sled and the Winter Fairies," the water fairy answered. "She said she couldn't live without him."

"Oh dear, well I hope she knows what she's doing," Mary replied. "Very well then, don't stop to gab all day, we've got our own wings to save. Gather your things and let's go."

WINTER WOODS, NEVER LAND

Lord Milori could hear the approaching thunder before the purple clouds overtook the snowcapped mountains. He ordered all of his fairies to launch right away. Milori had decided it best to keep his winter fairies together in one large group rather than extend them out as the warm weather fairies had done. The winter fairies had a great distance to travel over water and he believed in strength in their numbers. If anyone were in distress there would be plenty of help. Only the alchemists were allowed to leave early so they could find good ground for the new colony and tree.

Fortunately, everyone was ready when he gave the order.

A mass of Snowy Owls, winter fairies and balloon carriers ascended into the air. The airlift was massive. The owls circled the area while the balloon carriers reached favorable winds at higher altitudes. Milori and a few trusted winter fairies stayed to ensure that no one was left behind by accident or from faulty equipment. These included Spike, Gliss and Periwinkle of the frost talent guild, Slush from the glacier talents and Sled from the animal talents. Rosetta from the warm side had joined them at her own insistence. The garden fairy would not be separated from her one true love and newly minted husband, Sled. Milori could sympathize.

**~O~**

Rosetta didn't want to leave Pixie Hollow without marrying her man. Rather than insult Lord Milori, whose own wedding was cancelled by the curse, the two sought out the Keeper. Dewey performed a highly abbreviated version of the fairy wedding ritual. The garden fairy and winter sparrow man were legally wed. No time for a proper honeymoon, Sled promised her a great one once the new Winter Woods colony was at least functional. She just wanted to be at his side, though Ro was determined to hold him to that promise.

**~O~**

Snowflake, the Minister of Winter and Dewey, the Keeper of all Fairy Knowledge, led the mass exodus. From their vantage point high above, they could see the dark cloud slowly consuming Never Land. Dewey looked on with horror.

"Oh, dear. Lord Milori leave now or you'll never make it," he said under his breath, almost as if it were a prayer.

**~O~**

With every other carrier and Snowy Owl aloft, Milori ordered his remaining fairies to board their craft and take flight. Milori mounted his own faithful Snowy Owl and lifted off into the darkening sky. The foul mist closed on them fast. Perhaps faster than he had anticipated.

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

Every last warm fairy either boarded a balloon carrier or flew off towards the mainland under their own power. From her perch, Clarion could see the lengthy, rag tag group making their final escape. She turned upon hearing the distant thunder. She gasped when she saw the darkness consume the distant winter mountain ranges.

_Oh Milori, please be safely away, _she pleaded silently.

"Come, we must go now," Fairy Mary said, a touch of fear in her voice.

**~O~**

Clarion had given the order for her two remaining to ministers to lead away the last convoy of refugees from the island. She would join them in the Griffiths' meadow later. They protested, but Clarion gave them a cold stare and they obeyed without further dissent.

Away from island, Hyacinth and Redleaf could now see the cloud overrunning Never Land.

"She must leave now," Redleaf said.

"I'll go back for her," Hyacinth said, preparing to exit his carrier.

"No, we are too far away," Redleaf told him. The queen determined to be the last to leave. She would not go before everyone else had been evacuated. And if for any reason she did not make it off the island the ministers were to rule in her place until the curse was broken and she returned.

"What if she does not return?" Hyacinth questioned, jittery as he always was in stressful situations.

"She will have sacrificed herself for the greater good as she has always done for us," Redleaf said.

Hyacinth, who always carried a torch for the queen, felt as if he were betraying her.

"A new queen shall be born to take her place from a baby's first laugh," the autumn minister added. If a queen died before giving birth to a princess, then a new queen arrived like any other fairy. It was nature's way of protecting them from being without good leadership.

**~O~**

Fairy Gary and Terence loaded up a few extra acorn pots of yellow pixie dust. They didn't know how much time Zarina needed to grow a new pixie dust tree so they brought with them as much as possible without denying the winter fairies what they needed for the long distance journey. Bobble and Clank loaded their own tools and designs along with Tinker Bell's book of blue prints. The two tinkers noticed what everyone else did, as well. Tink and Terence sharing a longing gaze. They knew instantly why Tinker Bell had returned.

Terence was going to stay with the dust keepers, Fairy Gary, Stump, Stone and Bolt. Tinker Bell would accompanying her tinker guild mates Clank, Bobble and the recent arrival Bangle. Fairy Mary steadfastly remained by the queen's side along with the regent's four helper talents Cinda, Rhia, Grace and Lisel, as well as the queen's most trusted summoner, Viola. Fawn, Silvermist, Vidia and Iridessa jumped into their own balloon carrier which also contained their own personal items.

Rosetta was noticeably absent. Silvermist even asked where she was before remembering that the garden fairy had decided to leave with Sled. It was almost automatic for Sil and the others to expect Rosetta to be with them. Silvermist, who was usually the ditz of the group and received a considerable amount of ribbing for it, was lovingly consoled by her friends.

Somehow, incredibly, hey had done it. Every creature that swam, flew or crawled had been moved wholesale across the waters to the mainland. Along with them, thousands of fairies, millions of seeds and umpteen billion grains of pollen and pixie dust. Not a creature remained. Only Blaze, Tink's firefly friend was on the island. He waited dutifully to escort his tinker fairy.

When everyone was ready, Clarion boarded her carrier, the last to do so. She looked over Springtime Square for the last time. A lump formed in her throat. This was her home, where she ruled for over a thousand years. Now it would be gone in seconds. A tear rolled down her cheeks. Fairy Mary put her hand on Ree's shoulder.

"I'm okay," Clarion mouthed, too choked up to speak. She gave a nod. Someone in each carrier cast off and they ascended to the safety of the skies.

**~O~**

In the waters below, Cheese had survived his fall. His front paws rested on a chunk of gourd while his back feet peddled steadily. When the mouse fell into the water he was certain it meant his doom. A watery grave for the poor creature. Yet he somehow found his footing on a chunk of the gourd that carried him. Cheese determined where he was and realized it was too far to swim all the way to the mainland. He would give out from exhaustion and drown. Never Land was still in view, but to go there would invite being swept away by the curse. What would become of him in this distant land? Yet he understood that even the prison The Blue Fairy mentioned was better than drowning. A horribly slow and frightening way to die.

WINTER WOODS, NEVER LAND

Lord Milori has misjudged the oncoming curse. The swirling clouds enveloped the small band that trailed the leading convoy. The winds spun around and tossed him from his owl. The avian was flung from the storm. Milori, who could not fly because one wing was broken, barely snagged a dangling vine from one of the balloon carriers.

"Milori, climb," shouted Periwinkle.

He could not hear her cries, but climb he did. The Lord of Winter was unceremoniously pulled into the ice gondola. He feared for his winter fairies. How could he have made such a horrible miscalculation?

"At least our queen survives," he said. His last thoughts before fading into unconsciousness were of his most beloved Ree.

Rosetta and Sled watched as Milori barely made it to safety. Ro gasped with fear. The darkness tightened around them like a noose. She embraced her new husband. Sled turned her face into his chest and covered her body and head with his strong arms to protect her. Though he knew nothing could stop this from taking them away. He put his head to hers and closed his eyes. At once, they were all gone.

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

"It's following us," Tinker Bell shouted. Indeed, the thundering cloud had totally overrun the island and was turning towards them, as if seeking them out. Their fates had long been decided. Everyone knew that now. The group far ahead of them was ignored. Regina apparently only wanted Clarion. Those immediately around her were collateral damage.

Queen Clarion held on tightly to her friend, Fairy Mary. "Oh dear," the tinker said, trembling.

_Milori survives, he must_, was all Clarion could think about at that moment.

The clouds gobbled up every one of the trailing balloon carriers. The swirling winds tossed them around like toys. Fawn nearly fell out of hers and only an epic struggle by her friends kept her from falling. The four fairy friends gathered around in the bottom of the gondola and held tightly to one another.

Fairy Gary gripped the ropes that tethered the pixie dust covered cotton balls to the gondola. The others did the same, with Bolt wrapping a loose rope around his waist for good measure.

Tinker Bell and Terence spied one another from across the maelstrom. Terence's balloon was carried away from Tink's. He called out to her, but the roar drowned him out. He made a decision, leaping from his balloon and flying to hers. He almost didn't make it. The powerful winds nearly carrying him away.

Once aboard with Tink, he took off his acorn cap and put his arms around the little blonde fairy's waist.

"I love you, Tink," he said over the din.

"I love you, too, Terence," she answered him.

As the curse closed in around them he kissed her. It was the last thing they would remember.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Henry Mills stared out at the clock tower at the center of town. It was clearly visible from his second floor bedroom window. It was eight fifteen according to his alarm clock. The same as the clock tower, yet that one had never moved in his memory.

**~O~**

Claire Kensington sat at the bedside in the room of her youngest daughter, Tina. She held a Kindle e-Reader device in hand.

"Want me to read you a bedtime story?" she asked.

"Mo-om, I'm sixteen. I'm too old for that now," Tina protested. She was still busy with her trigonometry homework and while she would prefer almost anything else to it, being treated like a ten year old was worse.

"I'll by you ice cream after school tomorrow," Claire bribed.

"Rocky Road?"

"Rocky Road. Two scoops."

"Okay!" Tina bounded from her desk chair and into bed.

Claire tapped the device. "Okay, where did we leave off last time? Oh yes, here we are."

She began reading from the text of _Peter and Wendy_ by author J. M. Barrie. Soon they got to the part where Tink called Peter a "silly ass."

"Wow, I don't remember Tinker Bell ever having a mouth like that," Claire said, stunned. "You are not to use that kind of language, ever. Is that understood, Tina?"

"Yes, Mom," the girl sighed. She didn't know what the fuss was about. You could hear worse on television every day, especially on premium channels like HBO.

"Good." Satisfied, she kissed her little girl on the forehead and kept reading.

**~O~**

Emma Swan settled into the room provided by Granny, the older woman who greeted her at the check-in counter. The young brunette whose name was Ruby, Emma learned, brought up fresh towels before going out on the town for the night. Ms. Swan lay in the bed and found it surprisingly comfortable.

**~O~**

The alarm clock on Henry's nightstand turned to eight sixteen. As he watched the tower, the minute hand for the first time ever, moved. He smiled. Emma _was_ the savior. The curse was starting to break.

END EPISODE 1

* * *

**Whew, that was a lot of typing. My hands hurt and my brain feels like it is melting. I do hope you enjoyed all of Episode 1. Future episodes shouldn't be this long, but there was just so much set up for both the tv show and my story. Please tell me what you thought of it. I always enjoy reading your feedback. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover  
****Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 1**

* * *

The events in Storybrooke / Enchanted Forest occur during the second episode of the first season titled: The Thing You Love Most

* * *

**~O~**

THE GRIFFITHS' SUMMER HOME OUTSIDE LONDON, ENGLAND (The early Edwardian Period)

As the final balloon carriers arrived in the meadow across from the Griffiths' summer house, the sun had set and the last daylight was fading way. Lizzy Griffiths now a teenager, greeted the fairies with subdued excitement. She had always been fascinated with fairies and was close friends with Tinker Bell. She and her father even learned the fairy language to converse with them easier.

Upon learning what was happening, Lizzy was devastated by the news that Pixie Hollow was being destroyed. However, she consoled herself with the knowledge that her close friend Tinker Bell would in her very backyard. The girl envisioned the two visiting every day after her schooling was ended. Lizzy wanted to help the fairies re-establish their world while having fun and adventure with the little tinker fairy she met one rainy summer afternoon several years ago. The girl had not seen Tinker Bell in sometime, learning only belatedly that she had run off with Peter Pan to have adventures. Now her heart swelled with excitement in anticipation of seeing the tinker fairy once again.

She ran from balloon to balloon calling and looking for Tinker Bell. At arriving at the last one to land she found only the two ministers: Hyacinth and Redleaf.

"Tinker Bell? Did she make it?" Lizzy asked the ministers.

Redleaf could not even look her in the eye. He bowed his head and slowly shook it, indicating "no."

"I'm sorry, child," Hyacinth answered. "The dark magic has taken your friend and our queen. They never had a chance."

Lizzy ran to her father and wrapped her arms around him. She put her head into his chest and sobbed.

"She's…, she's gone, father," Lizzy told him. "Tinker Bell is gone."

"There, there, Lizzy," Martin Griffiths whispered, gently stroking her head in consolation.

Redleaf and Hyacinth delivered the awful news to the Never Fairies that escaped to the meadow. Queen Clarion did not escape the curse. She was lost. The hope that lived within their hearts instantly evaporated.

The first order of business for the three warm ministers was to try and establish a governing body. They bickered and yelled amongst each other. The fairies who watched felt more and more that they had no hope for their future. Their queen was gone and the ministers were arguing over petty grievances.

Dr. Martin Griffiths suggested a solution. Until a queen became available, they should establish a government devised from the British model. The ministers listened, quietly dismissed it. However, after more bickering, they ultimately decided it was the best solution available.

Redleaf was selected as the Prime Minister, overseeing the colony as the queen did. Redleaf was chosen because he was the eldest of the three, the wisest, the most experienced and he maintained his cool and composure in difficult situations better than either Hyacinth or Sunflower. He would also continue as Minister of Autumn, pulling double duty.

A fairy council was established with an upper assembly and a lower assembly. The upper assembly would consist of representatives from the major guilds. The lower was composed of representatives from the minor guilds, those that existed as sub talents of the major guilds.

Finally, two judiciary councils were formed to deal with conflicts between fairies. One for criminal transgressions, the other for civil disagreements. Fairy law and its overriding pillars remained an integral part of their culture and government.

With this work done, the fairies began the enormous task of rebuilding their shattered world. Zarina was tending to a wisp of a sapling that was peeking out of the ground. It was surrounded by her alchemy students, garden fairies, water fairies and light fairies. This was the new Pixie Dust Tree. It became a symbol of hope, the only one the Never Fairies formerly of Pixie Hollow had left.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE (October 2011)

Morning. The sun rose over the waters of the Atlantic bathing the city in a rejuvenating glow. Its warmth did not go unnoticed as the birds chirped, insects hummed and many denizens of the town by the ocean stirred at the first light. Granny's Diner opened for business. Sheriff Graham was one of the first customers today. Every day in fact. People began to fill the streets as they walked or drove to work, to shop or to school. Emma Swan woke in the comfy bed at the inn. She looked out the window and remembered where she was.

Inside her palatial, two story home Mayor Regina Mills paged through the book Mary Margaret had given to her son, Henry. The one titled _Once Upon a Time_. Inside were fairy tales, stories of fantasy that no one would believe were real except Regina. These stories were the history of her land, the Enchanted Forest and detailed incidents that she remembered with vivid clarity. When she reached the end of the book, the last few pages were gone. Torn out on purpose.

"Where are the missing pages?" she demanded of her son.

He claimed it was on old book. "Stuff's missing," he lied.

She saw him smiling as he readied himself for school. Regina didn't understand why he seemed so happy until she heard a sound from outside his window. It was the gong of the clock tower. Regina was startled by it, then shocked. The clock in the center of town never worked. It was a reminder that time was frozen here. Frozen by the dark curse. If the clock was moving, it meant the curse was losing its grip on the city. She was losing her grip on the city.

Regine went to the town square and gazed at the moving clock which sat atop the permanently closed library building. She was joined by Dr. Archie Hopper and his Dalmatian, Pongo. "Looks like those rusty innards finally worked themselves free," the psychologist commented to her. Regina was not amused. A happenstance glance towards the bread shop revealed an old, yellow VW Bug. Emma Swan was still in town. Apparently, Ms. Swan didn't heed Regina's warning to leave town last night. She was going to need more "convincing."

* * *

**~O~**

Despite the new dawn, each day was pretty much the same for Claire Kensington. She woke up at 5:30 am, cleaned up a bit, put on a long robe and went downstairs to cook breakfast for her two daughters, sixteen year old Tina and twenty four year old Valerie. The two girls slept much later than she did, so to keep herself company Claire turned on the small color television on the kitchen counter to watch the morning weather report. Then she switched to the talk show _Storybrooke This Morning_ hosted by a pair of bubble headed women. Claire didn't particularly like the show, but it was better than the often depressing news on the other channels. With breakfast halfway done she could hear her daughters stirring and like every day they were fighting over the single common upstairs bathroom.

**~O~**

When the alarm went off Tina hit the snooze button for a few extra minutes, but fate just wouldn't let her have them. She heard the alarm go off in her sister's room. Tina rocketed out of bed and shot into the hall.

"Hey, I was first," Valerie yelled through the closed door. Tina had ducked into the bathroom right under her sister's nose and gave the older girl the raspberry as she closed door in Valerie's face.

"Get out of there you little punk, I have to pee," Val yelled again.

"Sucks to be you this morning," Tina replied as she put toothpaste on her toothbrush. "Just use the one in mom's room." Tina didn't hear anything from the door after that so Valerie must have taken her advice. After a good shower she snuck back into her room before Valerie could try anything as payback for stealing the bathroom. Fortunately, Val was in the en suite's shower so she had no opportunity at revenge. Tina feared that would change later.

**~O~**

When the plates were set out on the kitchen table it wasn't much longer to wait for Tina to descend the stairs. She slipped into the kitchen and announced in a happy, high pitched voice, "Hi, Mom!" right before giving Claire a quick peck on the cheek, which Claire would reciprocate. Tina was usually bright and cheerful, with a sense of wonder of the world around her. Claire took great pleasure in watching her explore; she was especially fascinated with mechanics and loved to repair or take things apart.

Today her mother fixed whole wheat dollar pancakes, two eggs sunny side up, three strips of bacon, two sausage patties, grits and orange juice. Tina couldn't wait to start eating, but after the first bite she couldn't just wolf it down it was so tasty. For herself, Claire cooked a different meal since her doctor expressly told her to cut back on fats and salt to lower her high blood pressure. Her breakfast consisted of the whole wheat pancakes, egg whites with Ms. Dash salt free sprinkle for flavor, half a Ruby Red Grapefruit with sugar substitute and coffee.

The inhumanly perky talk show hosts were chatting about the weather and then began a segment about lawn and garden care. Claire listened intently as the two airheads detailed how to apply beneficial nematodes to eliminate pests in a garden or lawn. Nematodes were tiny creatures that lived in the soil destroying many unwanted insects harmful to a garden, pets and people.

Maine had to deal with ticks that carried Lyme Disease. The nematodes were a natural way to control the flea and tick population in a yard or garden. The two jabbering hosts did mention that the little worms were safe around pets and people. "You have to water them into your garden early in the morning before first light, or after the sun has gone down," one of the ladies on the television explained in a cheery and helpful manner. "If you apply them during the daylight hours, the sun will kill them."

"Beneficial nematodes," Tina's mother said writing the name down on a piece of paper. "Another service we can offer our customers." Lately her mother had started doing simple yard work when other jobs began drying up. Tina knew offering another service would mean a little more money for the family. It also meant getting up extra early on Saturday mornings. _Well, so much for the cartoons…, or sleeping in for that matter._

A few minutes later, a little slower and with far less energy was the older Valerie. Val and her mother had a contentious relationship ever since Claire's husband, Charlie, passed away. Since his death, the young woman changed her clothing; got numerous piercings; her work ethic disappeared; and she recently tinted her dark hair with purple steaks. Val often expressed her discontent through her clothing and today did so with a tight fitting tee for the heavy metal band AC/DC with the words "Highway to Hell" emblazoned across the front in blood red.

_Not exactly subtle_, Claire thought to herself.

"Hey," was all Val muttered when she entered the kitchen for breakfast. Valerie wolfed down her food so she could get out of the house as quickly as possible rather than take a ride to the work site with her annoying mother and cloyingly perfect little sister. When Claire wasn't looking Val leaned over to her sister and whispered "I hate your guts." Then she went back to eating. Tina just sort of grinned and whispered back, "Loser."

Though an employee of Claire's general contracting business, Val much preferred to hide out at The Rabbit Hole, the local bar where she could hustle the men out of their money at the pool table or dart board. Valerie finished her breakfast, gulped down her juice and left the table with a mumbled "bye." She grabbed her leather jacket and helmet and made a beeline for the door to the backyard and garage.

"Stay here," Claire said. "Don't you dare leave this house, young lady!" Claire tried to follow her outside, but she was still in her robe and wouldn't go passed the door. "Valerie! Valerie, dammit get back in here!" Claire's wayward daughter could no longer hear any other sound except the roaring of the twin cam engine of her old Harley-Davidson motorcycle as she sped away for the Rabbit Hole.

**~O~**

When Claire and Tina finished their breakfast and the morning dishes were clean, the youngest daughter sat in front of the television to watch the rest of _Storybrooke This Morning_ while her mother went back upstairs to finish dressing for the day. For the work site Claire dressed in work jeans by Dickie's, a red tartan flannel shirt to keep out the chill and thick socks under steel toe boots both by Wolverine. Claire combed and set her honey brown hair in a simple ponytail and slipped it through the opening on the back of her company ball cap.

She performed one last morning ritual.

Claire went to her private bathroom, opened the medicine cabinet and pulled out a glass bottle of cologne for men. She opened it and took a whiff bringing back wonderful memories of her deceased husband Charlie. The joyfulness of the moment was quickly replaced by the pain of knowing he was long dead and that memories were all that she had left of him. Ree, as Charlie called her, put the cologne back into the medicine cabinet and then sprayed on a little perfume to her neck and shirt, just enough so she would smell nice even as she sweated through the long and rugged work day.

Claire came downstairs, grabbed her coat and with Tina right behind they left the house and climbed into the old GMC pickup truck Claire used as a work vehicle. Tina was dropped off at school before Claire stopped at The Rabbit Hole to collect Valerie.

**~O~**

When the door to the bar opened Valerie was being pulled from the wrist by her mother.

"Get into the truck," Claire said angrily.

"Not fair, I'm old enough to do what I want!" Val shouted.

"Then act your age," her mother blasted back. "As long as you live under my house you live by my rules. I don't care how old you are, Val, you are still my daughter and you _will_ obey me."

"Fine, then I'm out of the house. I have enough money for my own place," Val roared defiantly.

"And how will you keep paying for rent? You'll need a steady job with regular pay, not this hustling gig you've cooked up. You do remember what Mayor Mills said yesterday, don't you?"

"I have a job, remember? I work for you."

"Since when? You never show up on time, you do as little work as possible and you are the first to leave even if your work isn't finished. I should fire you for being useless."

"That's all that I am to you, isn't it? Useless. Ever since your precious little golden haired princess was born I've been the odd one out. You should have just sent me back to the orphanage where I could find a real mother."

"I _AM_ YOUR REAL MOTHER!" Claire shouted. "I'm your mother because I want you to be a good young lady who is responsible and hard working. Who won't end up getting taken advantage of in a bar or working the red light district as a prostitute, or living under the old toll bridge because you have no money for a place to live. I'm your mother because I love and care about you as much as I do Tina."

"No you don't. You have always loved her more than you do me because she is your flesh and blood. I'm just some hard luck case you adopted because you and dad wanted a baby and thought you couldn't have one of your own. Well now you do so you can kiss my ass goodbye," Valerie screamed to her mother as she pulled away from Claire's grasp and turned back towards the bar.

"Fine, you want to spend the rest of your life hustling for money you go right ahead and do that," Claire yelled back. "But if you go into that bar instead of the truck you will never be allowed back in my house ever again and you can find work somewhere else. If you don't want to be my daughter then by extension you don't want any of the things I give you. You will have no roof over your head, no food in your stomach and no clothes on your back. You can fend for yourself for all I care. Have fun living in the gutter."

Valerie stopped at the entrance, her hand on the door handle. She wasn't sure if Claire was bluffing, but if her adopted mother wasn't then what would she do to survive? Valerie decided not to call Claire's bluff and stormed her way to the old GMC pickup. She climbed in, slammed the door and sat there, angry as hell waiting for her mother to drive to the worksite.

**~O~**

On the way over Valerie asked, "What about my bike?"

"I'll pick it up later," Claire replied. "How could you afford that thing anyway?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" was the only thing Valerie offered as an answer.

The young woman in purple and black just stared out the truck door as the town moved passed the window. Her soft, pale blue colored eyes reflected back at her in the glass. She expected to see anger and hatred, but instead saw only hurt and sadness. Once at the site Claire donned a yellow hardhat over her cap while Valerie topped herself with her own company baseball cap. Claire kept vigil over her employees, checking on what they were doing, that they were meeting code, following prescribed OSHA safety requirements and ensuring they were all hydrated, a tricky thing in Storybrooke's usually cool environment. Then she set to work putting down paper and tar on the roof.

Valerie sat up on the opposite side of the roof and would occasionally pound in a nail to hold down the shingles. But mostly she looked up at the sky thinking about the aircraft she would sometimes see flying overhead on clear days and wished she could be up there with them. That is where she wanted to be, what she wanted to do with her life: fly. Not fix roofs or run water pipes or put up dry wall. Fly in the clear blue sky with all the freedom that came with it.

* * *

**Author's Note: Charlie is not Lord Milori. He is a false memory created by the curse to keep Clarion and Milori apart in Storybrooke.**

**As always, reviews and other feedback are greatly appreciated.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 2**

* * *

FYI:

For those unfamiliar with the tv series _Once Upon a Time_, the show tells two concurrent stories in every episode. One story is set in Storybrooke, the second is a flashback to the Enchanted Forest. The Storybrooke portions are, generally speaking, in chronological order from episode to episode. The flashback sequences, however, are not. They bounce around the timeline highlighting a particular character in each episode, adding depth and texture to that individual.

I'll be using that same format with flashback sequences to Pixie Hollow's past.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

All she had left was revenge. An explosion of purple smoke signaled Queen Regina's return to her castle. A sword impaled itself into the masonry. That was Prince Charming's feeble attempt to do her in. Regina had just disrupted the wedding of Snow White to David, her Prince Charming. She promised everyone in attendance that beginning tomorrow she was going to take away all of their happy endings. Everyone and everything they cared about would be gone.

Ever since David woke Snow White from the sleeping curse, Regina's life had been one misery after another. Together, Snow and Charming established their own kingdom, raised an army, neutralized her dark powers against them and freed the Enchanted Forest from her rule. She had lost everything that mattered to her.

The face in the magic mirror needlessly informed Regina that her threat was an empty one. She had no power to do what she said. Her manservant offered some advice, to give up her quest for revenge. The man was also her father. She loved him, but Snow had taken away Regina's last hope for a happy life and she was going to pay. But how?

The Dark Curse.

When the queen first received the dark curse she found it shockingly despicable. A weapon of such terrifying evil that even she was afraid of it. To ensure it would never be cast, Regina traded it to someone she trusted to hide away from those who might misuse it. Now Regina wanted it back.

She ventured to the castle of Maleficent, the sorceress who gave Regina the sleeping spell in exchange for the curse. Maleficent reminded Regina of why she gave it up in the first place. Whoever devised it in the first place made the two of them "look positively moral" by comparison. It didn't sway the queen's blackened heart. After a duel of magic and wits, Regina won and claimed her prize.

* * *

OFF THE COAST OF NEVER LAND ISLAND (Early Edwardian Period)

A winter scout returned to the lead balloon carrier.

"Report," Snowflake demanded. Ever since the purple clouds swallowed up the Lord of Winter and the remaining winter fairies, The Minister of Winter had stopped the entire convoy and initiated search and rescue operation. That was twenty four long hours ago.

"No sign of Lord Milori or the others," he said. His voice was weak, almost afraid to deliver the news.

"Well keep looking, we have to find them," Snowflake replied.

"Minister," Dewey said, "We cannot wait any longer. Our dust won't last forever."

"Keeper, mind your place," Snowflake answered defiantly. "We can always replenish at the falls…" Her defiance faded. "No, we can't, can we."

The Keeper shook his head.

Another winter scout approached. He was carrying something.

"What is it? What do you have?" Snowflake asked, anxious for some good news.

The scout, looking dejected, held up a beaded necklace. Both Snowflake and Dewey recognized it immediately.

"The owl? What happened to it?" Snowflake asked.

"I'm sorry, Minister," was all the scout could say.

"Then he's…, he's really gone," Dewey said, choking up. "Lord Milori is no more."

Snowflake bowed her head. She didn't want to believe it. "Keep looking."

"Minister, we can't stay any longer," Dewey advised. "Our dust won't hold out. You have to give the order."

She knew he was right. Milori was dead. No matter how much she wanted to deny that fact. No trace of him or the others had been found for a whole day. She had held out hope that if the Lord Milori had indeed perished, a new Lord or Lady would have arrived to take his place. Since none had she reasoned that he must still be alive. However, given the current circumstances, no new leader could arrive to take his place. Not knowing was the worst for the Minister. It created so much doubt in her mind. She hated doubt, it clouded her judgment. Right or wrong, the Minister of Winter had to make a decision.

"All right. Let's go," she said, forcing herself to say those words.

Dewey, The Keeper of All Fairy Knowledge, bowed to her. With this unspoken declaration of Lord Milori's passing, Snowflake the Minister of Winter had become Snowflake the Lady of Winter and the new leader of the Winter Never Fairies.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Tina sat in homeroom, anxious to get to her favorite class: metal shop. First she had to endure English, US History (Colonization to the Civil War) and Geometry. Last year she had enrolled in wood-shop and enjoyed it so thoroughly that she enrolled in its companion class this year. Today, the metal shop class was going to use spot welders to make tool caddies. She couldn't wait.

At the moment, though, she had endure the drudgery of her homeroom. Fifteen minutes of pure torture. Tina hated her homeroom teacher, an old woman with such a sour attitude that Tina nicknamed her Mrs. Ugly Old Bat. That awful old lady treated every student in the room like they were a bunch of good-for-nothings.

On the first day of the school year, Mrs. Ugly Old Bat sized up everyone declaring who was going to succeed and who was going to fail. When she got to Tina, the woman said, "I remember your sister. You're going to flame out just like she did. You should just drop out now and spare us all your theatrics."

Tina was crushed. Claire took umbrage and vehemently complained to the principal and the school board. The horrible woman couldn't get fired. She had tenure and the powerful local teacher's union refused to let the school discharge her.

When the bell rang this morning to signal the beginning of the school day, Mrs. Ugly Old Bat told everyone to, "Shut up and sit down." She glared at the students through her horned rimmed glasses with beady eyes and a permanent scowl. The wrinkled old hag took roll and then declared she could not understand why they even bothered to show up. "It's not like any of you are going to amount to anything, anyway."

An audio speaker mounted on the wall came to life. The elegant baritone of the Vice Principal came through loud and clear.

"Please stand for the Pledge of Allegiance," the disembodied voice ordered. Every one, Tina included, stood and followed his lead:

_I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic for which it stands: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all._

Then came a moment of silent reflection. She heard the student behind her quietly reciting the Lord's Prayer. Apparently he hadn't studied for a test and wanted Divine Intervention to help him get an "A."

_Not gonna happen_, Tina thought wryly.

Following the moment of silence were some announcements and then came the bell for first period. Tina couldn't get out of homeroom fast enough.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (Approx. 900 A.D.)

Several scouts were positioned around the root bridge. No one was allowed inside their perimeter. The sun was setting and her majesty, the queen, had come here as she had every evening to meet_ him_.

Clarion and Milori sat on the bridge that straddled the line between Spring and Winter. She was the queen of all Pixie Hollow and a warm fairy. He was the Lord of Winter and a cold weather fairy. Neither could cross over into the other season without the threat of losing a wing. So they met here, every sunset at the border. Always together, forever apart. They didn't care.

"How did you do that?" she asked him.

"Simple," he replied, demonstrating again. "First, gather the water from the air and freeze it into ice crystals creating a blank. Then get an image in your mind of what you want to create. Once you have that, spin the blank on the tip of your finger and with the other hand sculpt away the excess snow until you have a snowflake."

A perfect snowflake appeared, perched on the tip of his finger.

"It's beautiful," she gasped.

"Don't you know how to make snowflakes?" he asked her. "I thought the queen possessed every talent from all four seasons."

"I do," her highness replied. "The minister of winter has been too busy to teach me."

"I see, would you like a little 'private' instruction?" he asked, with a sly glint in his eye.

She giggled. "I would like that very much."

Milori put his arm around the queen's waist pulling her in close. He then kissed her.

"I thought you were going to teach me how to make snowflakes?" she asked him, a mocking suspicious tone to her lovely voice.

"A snowflake fairy needs a happy disposition to sculpt," he answered. "I'm just preparing the student properly."

"Well in that case," she said edging up next to him, "you may continue."

He kissed her again.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma joined Henry as he was walking to school. While they talked, he informed her about "Operation Cobra." She was about to take a bite of a Honey Crisp apple when he asked where she got.

"From the mayor," she answered.

"DON'T EAT THAT!" he cried, stripping the apple from her hand and tossing into the garbage. Earlier that day, Emma had a rather unpleasant visit from Mayor Mills in which she made several veiled threats against her. Ms. Swan, however, refused to back down.

"Okay, so what's 'Operation Cobra?'" she asked him.

It was Henry's plan to help Emma break the curse. The first step was to associate the characters in the book of fairy tales with their corresponding identities in Storybrooke. None of the residents could remember who they really were because their memories were being masked by a haze spell. Emma wasn't swayed. He then handed her the missing pages from the fairy tale book and told her that she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Then went further and said that Mary Margaret Blanchard, his elementary school teacher, was Snow White. He insisted that she not show those pages to his adopted mother and encouraged Emma to read them.

The conversation leaves Emma very concerned about Henry's mental state and pays a visit to his therapist, Dr. Archie Hopper. She asks for the boy's medical files and he graciously provides them to her. It was Emma's first big mistake as she forgot about doctor patient confidentiality. If she had remembered, Ms. Swan would have realized she was being set up. Moments after she left, Dr. Hopper phoned the mayor.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Queen Regina had gathered several creatures both dark and sinister around a caldron. She revealed her plan to gain revenge on Snow White and the residents of the Enchanted Forest. She offered these sinister creatures a part in her vengeance. They would be taken to this world, but would be spared the curse. All she needed from them was a lock of hair.

Each one placed a few strands in the caldron where inside sat something else. The curse required Regina to take the heart of the thing she loved most and use it make the spell work. Inside was the heart of her prized stallion which she had ripped out of its chest with her bare hands. She cast the spell and purple smoke began to billow. It swirled and thundered as the assembled shrunk in fear. Then it fizzled.

A gnome jumped onto a rock and laughed at Regina. He reveled in her failure. Regina cast her dark magic and turned him to stone. He would follow her to Storybrooke, as an ornament in her garden.

**~O~**

Perplexed by her failure, Regina retreated to the castle and consulted with her father. He tried to talk her out of this mad desire for vengeance. They could move away, start a new life and find true happiness somewhere else.

Regina, however, fixated on the fact that Snow White had cost Regina her one chance at true happiness and would not give up until she had taken Snow White's happy ending away from her. Yet she still could not understand why the curse failed. Her father suggested talking to the person who gave it to her in the first place. Rumpelstiltskin.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire had been distracted, so distracted by Valerie this morning that she had forgotten to bring along the lunches she had packed for them. Rather than go all the way home Claire opted to eat at Granny's Diner nearby. Valerie sat at a table while Claire went into the bathroom to clean up a bit. She washed her face and neck, clearing both of sweat, dirt and sawdust. Then she opened her flannel shirt and wiped down her underarms with the wet towels.

The middle aged woman stared into the mirror and wondered exactly how her life ended up this way. She had a Bachelor's degree in music and once held aspirations of being a concert pianist playing major venues in cities like New York, London and Paris. All of that changed when she met and later married Charles Valentine Kensington, a high school dropout who had started his own contractor business with a little bit of money and whole lot of persistence.

Claire didn't think much of him when they first met. She pegged him as an uneducated simpleton beneath her status as a college graduate. He wouldn't take no for an answer and kept pressing her for a date. She finally agreed. Charlie, it turned out, was whip smart with an agile intellect and a knack for making anyone feel totally comfortable around him. His poor grades in school came about because he learned best by watching and doing, rather than reading about it.

He was a tall and powerfully built man, yet Claire never felt intimated by him. He always had a big smile on his face and a genuinely upbeat disposition. She fell in love and they married. When it was discovered Claire most likely could not bear children, she was devastated. Charlie, though, kept her spirits up and suggested adoption. They found the most beautiful baby girl and named her Valerie, in honor of her new father. From that day on, he tended to the business while she was a stay at home mom. As Valerie got a little older, Claire put her music degree to use by offering piano lessons.

When Charlie died, Claire was forced to take over his company. She had no idea how to be a contractor and had been struggling with it ever since. She was a musician and a mother, not a carpenter, plumber or brick layer. Yet that was exactly what she had to do to survive. Valerie and Tina were depending on her. What made everything more difficult for Claire was that Charlie had a way with people that she lacked. He could foster lifetime friendships and solid business partnerships over a beer and baseball game. She would sometimes get flustered negotiating pay for the day laborers.

Staring into that mirror, Claire wondered what her life might have been like if she had never married Charles Kensington. She might be a highly paid musician by now. Flying first class to Europe or Asia, playing for heads of state and staying at the finest hotels. It was an intoxicating fantasy. Valerie's little tirade this morning only made Claire want it even more. Then she thought of Tina, her flesh and blood. How could she turn her back on that perfect little angel?

Claire buttoned up her shirt and went back into the diner, certain that Val would have run off by now. She was still at the table, though, gulping down a glass of iced tea. Claire was thankful for small favors.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Reviews are always welcome. **

**P.S. Don't worry, Lord Milori will show up soon enough.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon a Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 3**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

The Daily Mirror, Storybrooke's only newspaper, had an article concerning a young woman named Emma Swan. A visitor who had destroyed the town's historic road sign last night because she was drunk. Claire could not believe what she was reading. The article, a front page piece, cast the visiting Ms. Swan in the worst possible light.

"They ought to run that woman out of town," Claire mumbled while eating lunch. What she and the rest of the town did not realize was that it was a hatchet job. A libelous and almost wholly fabricated article written by the paper's lead reporter, Sidney Glass, at the request of Mayor Regina Mills.

Regina had employed Sidney to do some investigating into Ms. Swan's background. She wanted to learn as much as she could about her in the hopes of finding something scandalous enough to scare Henry away from the Swan woman. Unfortunately, he had found almost nothing of use to her.

**~O~**

After lunch, Claire packed up her eldest daughter and drove to The Rabbit Hole to pick up the girl's motorcycle. On the way, Valerie spotted a blue Dodge Ram panel van.

With a sneer, Valerie said, "There goes your boyfriend, James Bond."

Claire looked out the window and saw the van. On its panel it read:

Winter's Heating  
HVAC Installation and Repair  
Hartley Winter, Owner / Operator

Valerie was still giving her attitude.

"He is not my boyfriend," Claire replied sharply. "And just because he is British does not make him James Bond."

The van turned off the main street and into a residential area.

At the bar, Valerie reclaimed her motorcycle and drove it to the work site. Claire followed closely in her truck to ensure she did.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (Approx. 950 A.D.)

Usually they met at the border every day at sunset. Today they met in the afternoon. The Lord of Winter had a grand idea: skating. The winter border ran along two of the warm seasons, touching both the Spring Valley and the Autumn Forest. Only the Summer Glade was excluded as it existed on the far side of The Hollow between Spring and Summer.

The border itself was a physical divide, a river fed by run off from mountain snow. The water cut through the earth between the three seasons, leaving sheer walls that were deep to a fairy or a small animal. Fortunately, fairies could fly.

And skate.

In between the earthen cliffs the river moved between the warm and the cold. The change between the seasons was like a curtain, leaving one half of the river frozen solid while the other was warm, flowing water. This is where Lord Milori and Queen Clarion had their date. His idea was simple. He would ice skate on the frozen side while she would water skate on the warmer side, their hands touching where warm turned cold.

They fluttered their wings which propelled them across the river. Clarion smiled when she looked across at her love. The wind whipping through this snowy what hair. The queen, who always kept her hair in an up do style, pulled down her honey brown locks letting them flow with the air that rushed passed. He laughed a bit, she never looked so beautiful. When they approached the Autumn / Winter border they stopped. He pulled up close to her and, holding her arm high, watched as she spun on the water's surface. Her dress flared out and her lovely hair whipped around.

She slowed and Milori wrapped his arms around her tiny waist, pulling her in tight. "You were magnificent, Ree."

Clarion's eyes narrowed. "Tell me, how did you come up with that name? Ree?"

"It was the sound my heart made when I first laid eyes on you," he told her.

"Good answer."

He smiled, leaned in and kissed her lovingly on those beautiful red lips.

"Should we?" he asked, motioning to the Autumn / Winter border.

"It's cooler over there," she said. "I would need a sweater."

"Oh," was all he said. They gazed into each others eyes. Both could see the longing in the other. They wanted desperately to be a part of the other's world. But they could not cross the border. A warm fairy's wings would freeze and break in the Winter Woods. A cold fairy's wings would become hot and wilt under the hot sun of the warm seasons before tearing. It was cruel quirk of nature that kept them apart.

Instead, they turned and skated back through the Spring / Winter border. Their hearts both swelling, and aching, with the love they had for each other.

Later in the evening, they shared a lovely dinner on the bridge where they always met. The talked and laughed and kissed. Then they snuggled, watching the sun set in the distance. After saying their goodbyes, each went back to their own worlds and responsibilities. On his way to the Winter Castle, Milori began thinking about what Ree had told him. The Autumn Forest was cooler. Maybe, he theorized, it would be cool enough for a winter fairy.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma found herself in jail again, she knew exactly why.

The Sheriff had arrested her after Dr. Hopper reported that Emma had stolen Henry's medical records. She was stunned by the accusation, but not entirely surprised. This stunt had Regina's fingerprints all over it.

Indeed, Regina Mills used the phony arrest to try and convince Henry that Emma was a dangerous woman who was trying to tear them apart. Her pleas had the reverse effect. Instead of making Henry fearful of Emma, he enlisted the aid of his teacher, Mary Margaret Blanchard, to bail Ms. Swan out of jail.

"Why are you doing this?" Emma asked the elementary school teacher.

"I trust you," Ms. Blanchard replied. Emma didn't exactly know why. Henry, however, did.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST, RUMPELSTILTSKIN'S PRISON

Queen Regina had to know why the Dark Curse didn't work. She stood in front of him, The Dark One. But with Rumpelstiltskin, everything came with a price. His fee: to be wealthy and comfortable in this new world of Regina's. Secondly, if he should ask a favor of her, she could not refuse him as long as he said "please."

The evil queen agreed since he would have no memory of this conversation or the contract. With the deal struck, the answer was simple. The stallion she sacrificed was not the thing she loved most. It was something else. Regina just needed to figure out what that was.

Before she left, he also informed her of the visit he had with Snow White and Prince Charming and detailed that their child would break the spell.

**~O~**

Back at her castle, Regina understands what she loves most, or rather whom. Her father. He tries to reassure her that she could find love again. Regina doesn't believe that she can and tears his heart out, killing him.

Tears trickle down her cheeks. "Sorry, Daddy."

She returns to the caldron and recasts the spell. This time she is alone. This time it works. At her father's grave she lays a black rose. His name was Henry.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

At the high school, Claire is waiting for her youngest to exit. The mother of two was in a bit of a pickle. Valerie was giving her attitude again. However, Claire had promised Tina ice cream last night. If she bought ice cream for both girls, she would be rewarding Valerie's bad behavior. To exclude Val would be give the older girl further reason to disobey her mother. Life was difficult enough without all of her drama.

Ever since Tina was born Valerie felt that her mother paid extra attention to the younger girl. At first, Claire thought it was just sibling rivalry. When Charlie passed away, her attitude turned for the worst and she had been rebelling ever since. Her latest stunt involved hustling patrons at The Rabbit Hole, usually at the pool table or dart board. How that girl learned to play either of those games so well was beyond her.

Valerie was very athletic as a child, playing sports for Storybrooke Middle and High Schools. She displayed excellent body control, hand-eye coordination and in situation decision making. Her room still had the shelf Charlie built to display her trophies. There were no more trophies after Charlie died. It was like her spirit died with him.

_Maybe I'm too harsh on her_, Claire thought. _Or maybe I'm being too soft._ Valerie was twenty four and legally an adult. She was responsible for her own actions. Yet she never went to college and wasn't interested in looking for work or doing anything else with her life. Except for that ridiculous fantasy Valerie kept nursing about learning to fly.

**~O~**

The last bell rang. Tina grabbed her backpack and made a beeline for the door. Once outside she saw her mother's work truck idling next to the curb. Walking towards the old beat up vehicle she spied the postman delivering mail to the houses across the street from the high school. The mailman was Clarence; a blonde haired, blue eyed nineteen year old Adonis. Clarence looked her way and waved. Her heart went pitter patter. She blushed, her cheeks turning a beet red. Tina smiled at him and waved back, mostly just curling and uncurling her fingers.

The two had shared the same Physical Education class her freshman year. He looked absolutely magnificent in those cut off t-shirts he wore while climbing ropes, running laps or just standing there. She always went weak in the knees around him. Tina had wanted to ask him out, but she could never get up enough courage to talk to him. Clarence did notice her, though, smiling in her direction several times. Then one day, he spoke to her.

"Hi, Tina, you dropped your pen," he said holding a chewed up ball point pen.

"Thanks," she breathed.

_He knows who I am! He knows who I am!_ She shrieked with glee inside.

I didn't occur Tina that her name was stitched to her backpack. It didn't matter, _he knew who she was!_

They met a few times in the lunch line and even sat together once in a while. He liked her eyes and her cute pigtails.

She liked everything.

Last year, for the annual senior prom Clarence, a graduating senior, invited her as his date. Tina had to pinch herself, several times, to make sure she wasn't dreaming. It wasn't a dream, although it felt like one.

"Tina! Tina!" Her mother's voice shook the girl out of her reverie. "Let's go!"

Clarence watched her get into the beat up work truck. She felt totally humiliated.

* * *

**For those keeping score:**

**Clarence = Terence**

**Three guesses who Lord Milori is, and the first two don't count.**

**I hope everyone enjoyed this installment. As always, reviews are welcomed. Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 2, Chapter 4**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

An odd sound from her backyard caught Regina's attention. She went outside to find Emma Swan with a chainsaw cutting down a large branch from her prize Honey Crisp apple tree. Right then and there the two had an altercation, with Emma swearing that no matter what Regina tried to do to her, she would never back down. Regina was furious and called the sheriff to arrest her again.

**~O~**

Returning to the work site, Claire was pleased to see Valerie still working, though she had done very little in Claire's absence. Tina disembarked from the vehicle and went to work. She grabbed a nail magnet and began sweeping the area, picking up nails and other loose metals lying on the ground. It was a safety issue that Claire took very seriously.

One day a few years ago Claire called Charlie to meet him for lunch. He informed her that he was at the hospital. Apparently, he took a break to cool off and received a deep puncture in his thigh. A rusty nail was hiding in the grass and pierced his skin when he sat down. Charlie had to get a tetanus shot. Days later he returned to the hospital with a secondary infection resulting from the puncture.

Although Tina was very adept with most hand tools, this was always her first task when she came to work directly after school.

About an hour later Claire answered a call on her cell phone. The person on the other line told her that their sewer line was backing up. A plumber had come out and discovered that roots had invaded the aging pipe. The only option was to dig up and replace the old sewer pipe that ran from the house to the city line. She accepted since she desperately needed the job. With all of her labor tied up at this renovation project, Claire jumped into her truck and drove out to the other side of town to find more day laborers.

Two young men, one tall and fat with dark hair and a dim look on his face; the other short and skinny with a shock of red hair and wearing Coke Bottle glasses, stood out. They were front page news earlier in the year. The two were city employees working for the Department of Public Works. One Friday night they had too much to drink at The Rabbit Hole and on the walk home decided to have a light saber duel… with a pair of back hoes.

They were fired and faced still financial penalties for damaging city property. After the news article made their antics public knowledge, no one dared hire them as permanent employees. Now they lined up for day labor work every morning and they took whatever odd jobs they could find. Claire, not wanting to scare off her new client, passed them over.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (Approx. 950 A.D.)

Queen Clarion arrived at the border in the Autumn Forest, just as Lord Milori's note had requested. The winter fairies had departed for the mainland and he wanted some alone time with his beloved Ree. The queen wore a shawl. The autumn air was crisp and cool. She flew up to the border bridge, but there was no sign of him.

She called out to him. "Lord Milori. Lord Milori, I'm here as you requested."

Nothing. Not even a hello. "Milori, where are you?"

Still nothing. She waited for several minutes. Perhaps he was busy with something and couldn't make it. Clarion hovered near the border and peered across into the snowy world of the Winter Woods. She called out to him one or two more times before turning around to go back to the Pixie Dust Tree. Just as she was about to leave, Clarion noticed snowflakes falling around her.

"Snow? In the Autumn Forest?" She looked up and saw the Lord of Winter, standing on a tree limb making the flurries that were falling around her.

"I've been waiting," he said with a wicked smile.

Clarion was stunned and deeply worried for him.

"Milori! What are you doing? You're out of your season!" she said. "You must go back before your wings break."

"My wings feel just fine," he answered with a touch of whimsy in his voice.

"What?" Clarion flew up to him and settled on the branch. "You must go back, hurry. Hurry! You don't know how long before something terrible happens."

"Do not worry, my love, I've done this before," he admitted.

Clarion was shocked beyond all reason by what he said. "What do you mean you've been here before? When?"

After their skating date, Milori reasoned that if the air in the Autumn Forest was cool enough, it might allow winter fairies to cross into that season. At least for a little while. So he tried it, staying for a few minutes. Where the autumn air was cool and crisp to warm weather fairies, it felt warm and lite to a winter fairy. During this first excursion, he felt no ill effects and his wings never wilted or appeared to be in any danger.

A few days later, he tried it again, staying longer. The end result was the same. Milori experimented on several occasions, extending the length of his visit each time. He discovered that a winter fairy could be reasonably safe for about one hour before his or her wings began to feel any ill effect.

"We aren't confined to the border any longer, Ree," he told her.

Clarion looked as though a prayer had been answered. Several emotions ran wild through her heart. She started to cry, tears of joy and happiness streaking down her lovely cheeks.

"Now then, why don't you show me more of your world?" he asked, taking her hand in his.

"I would love to," she answered. The two lit off, the queen acting as his guide through the Autumn Forest.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Back at the Inn, Emma was told she had to leave. Granny explained that city had an ordinance barring felons from renting a room at any inn or hotel.

"Let me guess, the mayor called to remind you," Emma replied.

Emma took what few things she owned to her yellow VW Beetle only to find it booted. This could only be the doing of one person: Regina. Her cell phone rang. Speak of the devil. The mayor wanted to talk with Emma at her home, to make peace.

Earlier Regina demanded that Sheriff Graham arrest Emma for what she had done to the Mayor's apple tree. Graham, however, pleaded with Mayor Mills that arresting Ms. Swan would only strengthen her resolve. He also suggested that if she kept up this war, Henry would end up caught in the middle.

Regina welcomed Ms. Swan into her home and escorted her to the office. She expressed concern that Emma had intended to take Henry away from her and leave. Emma quieted her fears by telling her that she was only concerned about the boy's well-being, particularly in regards to his fairy tale theory, which Emma admitted sounded crazy.

"You think I'm crazy?"

Emma swung around and saw Henry, looking hurt and betrayed, standing behind her. She tried to explain herself, but he wanted none of it. Emma was incensed, she had been setup. Regina knew Henry's daily schedule and planned for Ms. Swan to be in her office where her son could hear their conversation. Getting Emma to say Henry was crazy with him listening would drive a wedge between them. One that would put so much distance between her son and Emma that it would force Ms. Swan to leave Storybrooke in defeat. The big smile on her face revealed how confident Regina was in her endgame. If she could, she would have run a victory lap.

**~O~**

The sun hung low in the western sky. The shorter autumn days prevented Claire from getting too much work done at the new job site. Her choices of day labor started digging as soon as they got there, but when the workday ended, each demanded full pay for the entire job upfront. She paid them only for the hours they worked and nothing more. She hated those kinds of people. Pay them in full and you will never see them again. Tomorrow she would have to find new help.

On the way to the renovation house to pick up her two girls, Claire stopped at the grocery store and bought a few things to make dinner. She included a half gallon of Rocky Road ice cream for dessert. She reasoned that offering some to Valerie was the lesser of two evils. Claire was exhausted and didn't want to provoke another tantrum from the girl.

When the three arrived at their home, Tina went to the dining room table to study, Valerie ran upstairs and locked herself in her bedroom and Claire took the bag of groceries into the kitchen. She sat down to catch her breath. Claire remembered what it was like when Charlie was still alive. He would come home late in the evening, exhausted from the long day, but always full of energy for his family. She and the two girls would run out to greet him and he would reciprocate by grabbing them into a giant bear hug.

"How are my best girls?" he would say to them. Every once in a while he would show up a little late with little gifts for his "best girls." A model airplane for Valerie, a toy for Tina and a rose or some chocolates for Claire. No matter how bad the day might have been, those kinds of moments always cheered her up.

Claire missed him so badly. She could use some of his cheering up right now.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND

Milori held a cube of ice delicately between his fingertips. Clarion wrapped her lips around it. Ice cold water slipped down her tongue. It was exquisite.

Clarion lay on her back, the green grasses providing a comfortable bed for her. Milori, laying on his side, hung over her. He slowly moved the cube of ice from her lovely red lips to her chin and down her neck. Freezing water melted from the ice cube and trickled down into her cleavage. She found it an incredibly sensual experience.

Milori and Clarion were enjoying their time together. Perhaps a little too much. More than an hour had passed since the Lord of Winter crossed over into the Autumn Forest. He did not feel any different, other than feeling warm outside from the air, and warm inside from being side by side with the love of his life.

So entranced were the two lovers that they did not notice their environment. They were no longer in the cool Autumn Forest. The green grasses and trees that surrounded them were part of the Spring Season.

"Shouldn't you be going back?" she finally asked him, saddened to have to say it.

"What's wrong, tired of me already?"

"Never, my darling. But we cannot risk your health."

"I've never felt better."

He leaned down and kissed her.

**~O~**

The day seemed so short, yet the sun was slipping lower into the late afternoon sky.

"It has been so long since you've been out of your season, Milori," she said. "You should go back before something terrible happens."

"You worry too much," he answered.

"I worry because I love you so. Now please, for my own peace of mind, let us go back to the border."

He sighed. Milori learned that there was no arguing with her. "Very well."

The Lord of Winter helped his beautiful queen and love to her feet. She took his hand and together they flitted off to the winter border. A few seconds after leaving the ground, Milori fell out of the air.

The Lord of Winter groaned, a few mild aches from her had landed on the ground. He laughed. "I guess we walk back to the Winter Woods."

He waited for Ree to make some kind of sharp remark. She said nothing. Instead, she hung in the air, her back turned to him.

"Oh no," he heard her say.

"Don't worry, I'm fit enough to walk all the way," he quipped.

"Milori, no." Her voice trembled with fear. Clarion turned around. Held between her hands was part of a gossamer fairy wing. She looked pained and horrified.

Milori held his wings aloft to examine them. One of them had broken.

She gasped. Clarion lost her composure. "No. No no no no no. Maybe we can fix it. Yes, we can fix it."

Ree rushed to his side. She put the broken wing back into place. "See, its fine. You're fine."

The fragment came loose and fell again. She grabbed it and tried to replace it. It fell out again. She kept trying, becoming more and more frantic. "No, no this can't be happening. It has to work. Why won't it stay put?"

"Ree, stop."

"No, we can fix this."

"No. Ree. That's enough."

"Winter. We need to get back to winter. The cold air will mend your wing. Hurry, hurry."

"CLARION, STOP!" he yelled, grabbing her arm. "Nothing can fix a broken wing. You know that."

It was true. She burst into tears, nearly collapsing to the ground. Milori grabbed her in his arms and cradled her tight against his body.

"It's my fault, I should never have let you cross into the warm seasons," she said through her crying.

"No, my love, the fault rests entirely with me," Milori confessed. "I should never have been so careless."

**~O~**

"What should I do?" Queen Clarion asked of her friend.

"This rule you've written sounds rather extreme," Mary answered. Mary, a tinker fairy, was the queen's oldest and closest friend, having known each other since Clarion was a young princess.

The rule Clarion had written would close the border permanently. Crossing would be forbidden. No face to face contact would be allowed. Not even when transferring the animals who needed to hibernate every year from Autumn into Winter. The warm and cold seasons of Pixie Hollow would forever be isolated from the other.

"I can't have another fairy or sparrow man lose their wings, Mary," Clarion said, looking and sounding numb. "But if I do this, I'll never see Milori again."

"And you'll be breaking up guilds and close friendships, too," the tinker added.

Many guilds had members on both sides of the border: animal, tinker, light, garden, cooking, scout and others. Warm guild members often met with their winter counterparts at the border crossing sites to talk about their work and share stories. Many close friendships were formed this way. Several fairies on both sides had voiced a desire to cross to the other side and experience what their friends knew on a daily basis. This is what scared Clarion so much. Would some daring fairy or sparrow man believe themselves to be so indestructible that they would cross over and suffer the same fate as Lord Milori?

She could not let that happen. Even if meant giving up the person she loved most.

"It will be a terrible sacrifice you two will have to make," Mary told the queen.

"I know, Mary, but it is something we will both have to do," Clarion told her. "Milori and I cannot allow our personal feelings to get in the way of protecting those who are under our care. This border rule must be enacted…, immediately."

Clarion shut her eyes tightly and began to weep. "I'm going to miss him so much."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Young Henry Mills had retreated to the comfort of Dr. Hopper's office. He felt betrayed by the one person he thought he could trust with the secret of the curse. The one person he needed to believe him the most.

While they were talking, Emma came into the office to speak with Henry. She wanted to mend fences, but he wasn't in a mood for listening.

"You said I was crazy," Henry said accusingly. Emma admitted that she thought the curse was crazy. But that didn't mean it wasn't true. Henry had given his operation the code name "Cobra" because it had nothing to do with fairy tales. It was to keep his mother from finding what he was doing. Emma explained that she was doing the same thing to Regina, telling her what she need to hear to keep her in the dark.

The angry look on Henry's face changed into a beaming smile. "That's brilliant!" he said, commending her.

Then Emma took the pages Henry had torn out of the fairy tale book and tossed them into the fire. "These pages _are_ dangerous," she said. They revealed her identity as the savior, the one who would break Regina's spell. They could not afford to let her find out.

**~O~**

After leaving Dr. Hopper's office, Emma paid a visit to Mary Margaret Blanchard to say thank you and pay back the bail money Ms. Blanchard spent to get her out of jail. Mary Margaret invited Emma inside for some hot cocoa. Ms. Blanchard offered her the cocoa with whip cream and cinnamon. This was how Mary Margaret took her cocoa. Strangely, this was also how Emma drank her hot cocao.

"Why did you bail me out of jail?" Emma asked of her host.

"I felt like we've met before," she admitted. This struck Emma as another strange coincidence, especially in light of the fact that Henry thought Mary Margaret was Snow White, Emma's mother.

**~O~**

Mr. Gold paid a visit to Regina, offering to help her get rid of Ms. Swan, "for a price."

Regina had no interest in making deals with him. He reminded her that she had made a deal with him before, when he found Henry for her to adopt.

"How did you come up with that name for your son?" he asked her, almost knowingly.

Regina couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she got the impression Mr. Gold was hiding something. That maybe he remembered who he really was.

**~O~**

Claire put Tina to bed, pulling the covers over her to keep her warm through the chilly autumn night. "Good night, sweetheart," she said, kissing the young one on her forehead.

"Goodnight, Mom," a sleepy Tina replied.

Next she tried to do the same for Valerie, but she was already asleep. Or maybe just pretending. In spite of all that happened today, Claire still made sure Val was tucked in warmly. She whispered, "Goodnight, sweetie," and kissed her on the temple.

She stopped and took one last look back into Val's room before closing the door. Claire was reminded of a conversation she had a few years ago with one of Charlie's close friends. It was long after her husband had passed away. The man said that Charlie had one regret in life.

_"What was it?" she asked him._

_"Now don't take this wrong way, but he said that in marrying you he stole your dream."_

_"My dream? What was he talking about?"_

_"Your desire to become a concert pianist," he replied. "A while back Charlie heard you playing the piano and realized that you were good enough to play in the big times. He felt responsible for taking all of that away from you."_

In marrying Charles Valentine Kensington she gave up what she loved most. But in exchange she found something she loved even more: her two girls.

* * *

**End of episode 2. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Thank you.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
** A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
** Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 1**

* * *

Takes place alongside events of the third episode from the first season titled Snow Falls.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

He wouldn't stop looking at her. Mary Margaret Blanchard was on a date with Dr. Whale, physician and surgeon at Storybrooke Hospital. Whale was ogling Ruby the waitress who always dressed in the skimpiest, most provocative attire she could. Tonight she was wearing red colored hot pants so tight and short that her tiny waitress apron looked huge by comparison.

Needless to say, the date ended early.

Dispirited, Mary Margaret walked home, wondering why she couldn't find true love. She noticed a yellow VW Beetle parked on the side of the main drag. Inside was Emma Swan, who was living out of her vehicle after getting kicked out of Granny's Inn.

This wasn't the worst thing she'd had to endure, Emma admitted. There wasn't a room to rent in all of Storybrooke, so her car would likely be her home until something came available. Mary Margaret said she had a spare bedroom and offered to take her in. Emma, always a loner, declined, but thanked her anyway.

**~O~**

Valerie was racing her Harley-Davidson motorcycle down the back roads of Storybrooke. Only the moonlight from above and the cycle's headlamp gave any view of the highway. She was playing a dangerous game, one that would have scared any other person. Valerie enjoyed the rush. It was the speed and the thrills she craved. Well into the night the dark haired girl rocketed through the woods. She felt free. Free from all responsibility; free from her mother; free from any comparisons to her perfect little sister; free from the cruel world where she felt trapped by everyone and everything around her.

This is why she wanted to fly. If only her father was still alive.

Sadly, all good things come to an end. Valerie returned home, poking along at a painfully slow 30 miles per hour through the city streets. The last thing she wanted was for the sheriff to give her a ticket. It wasn't that she couldn't afford it, she could, but a ticket meant another shouting match with her mother. It was after midnight and Claire could be such a bitch.

_I don't know what dad saw in her?_ she asked herself.

Val approached her house, an older two story Tudor style with dormers in the high peaked roof. The master bedroom on the upper floor had a porch that doubled as a carport. It gave a clear view of the front lawn and street. Her mother was sitting there drinking tea. Probably chamomile.

_Just my luck. The warden is watching._

Once inside Valerie ran upstairs. Her mother stood in the hallway blocking the path to the bedrooms. Her arms were crossed and she was visibly upset. "Where have you been?"

"Out," Val replied shortly.

"That's not an answer," Claire snapped. "You have to be up early tomorrow."

"So do you," Valerie answered. "Earlier in fact."

"Yes, and I should be asleep, but instead I'm up waiting and worrying about you."

"Then stop worrying," Valerie retorted, "I can take care of myself."

"If you could do that you wouldn't have to live here. You would have a college degree, a full time job that you would go to everyday and a place of your own," Claire shouted.

"You want me out of your house? Fine I'll be out your house," Val shot back.

"What I want is for you to stop behaving like a child and to start acting your age," Claire demanded.

Valerie just stood there, staring down her mother. "I wish dad had lived-."

"So do I, but he's gone. Nothing can change that," Claire told her.

Valerie narrowed her eyes. "I meant, I wish dad had lived and you had died." Valerie shot passed her mother and into her bedroom, closing the door behind.

"Valerie? Valerie you come out her this instant," Claire yelled through the door. "That is a horrible and mean thing to say!"

"It's supposed to be!" Val yelled back through the door.

"Mom?" Tina had opened her door and peeking into the hallway. "What's going on?"

Claire, who was five foot nine, went to her younger daughter, who barely stood five-two, and knelt down in front of her. She spoke in soft, quieting tones to the girl. "Oh, I'm sorry we woke you, honey. It's just your sister, she's being difficult again."

"Can't you make her stop?" Tina asked sleepily.

"I'm trying," Claire said, tugging the little girl's nightdress smooth and straightening her hair. "Now go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay, Mom."

Claire kissed her little angel on the forehead and sent the child back to bed. Too tired to argue any more with Valerie, she retired to her bedroom. It was twelve thirty and she was only going to get five hours of sleep. Claire was going to drag through the entire day, even with coffee.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

"You're a girl!" James said, astonished.

"Woman," the bandit replied, just before clocking him in the head with a rock. Prince James was too stunned to hold her. The bandit leapt to her feet and escaped.

"I will find you!" James yelled to the woman who had just stolen his jewels and wedding ring.

Prince James was riding in a guarded carriage with his fiancée, Princess Abigail. She was a snobbish woman who complained about everything. When the convoy came to a sudden stop, James stepped out of the carriage to find out what was going on, leaving his leather pouch of jewels and wedding ring on the seat. The path was blocked by a fallen tree, but when studied up close it was clearly felled. That was when the bandit struck and stole the leather pouch. Now James had no ring to give to his wife to be. He had to get it back.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"MOM!" Tina yelled, shaking her mother. "MOM! Wake up!"

"It's too early, sweetie," Mrs. Kensington mumbled. "Go back to bed."

"Mom, it's seven o'clock. I have to be at school in an hour!"

Claire pried open her sleepy eyes and stared at the digital clock. It couldn't be that late, her alarm would have gone off, waking her at five thirty. She remembered that strange dream she had. The one where she kept looking for the off button on her alarm clock. Finally, Claire was able to shake off enough sleep to read the red, digital numbers. They said, 6:55 AM.

"OH CRAP!" Claire jumped out of bed and started scurrying around like a chicken with its head cut off. "I have to shower, but you have to eat, where is your sister?"

"She left this morning after eating corn flakes," Tina answered.

The older woman just growled under her breath. "Uh..., have you eaten?"

"Yeah, I had some corn flakes, too," she said. "With grapes."

Tina was fully dressed and waiting to leave for school. Claire still needed to brush her teeth, bathe, and use the toilet before getting dressed. Not enough time for all of that. Unless she brushed while in the shower.

By 7:40 Claire was downstairs and calling for Tina. The girl brought out a bowl of cornflakes with milk and green grapes. The woman smiled, Tina would do something sweet like that. Claire had to gulp down her food. She would be late to the renovation job site and called to one of the workers to let them know. The one big question that kept running through Claire's mind, however, was where to find Valerie.

** ~O~**

Mary Margaret's elementary school students were at the hospital putting up banners and posters to cheer up the patients. Ms. Blanchard had been volunteering at the hospital regularly, leaving flowers and offering to the patients comforting words and someone to talk to. Bringing her students would teach them the value of volunteerism and citizenship. All the children were actively involved in the project. With one exception, Henry. He was in a special ward where a patient named "John Doe" was kept. He thought that was the man's real name. It turned out that Mr. Doe was a comatose patient who had been in the hospital's care for as long as Ms. Blanchard could remember. No one knew who he really was.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (English Interregnum Period on the Mainland)

Late one evening a baby's first laugh found its way to the island of Never Land. It came clinging to a bloom from a Purple Leaf Plum Tree. The laugh, which had come a great distance, nearly got lost and had many adventures crossing the different lands and oceans before reaching Pixie Hollow. A fast flyer encircled the bloom, pushing it with gentle breezes towards a giant, maple tree that glittered with pixie magic.

When the bloom settled, a hefty looking man with orange hair and moustache brought out a cup with golden yellow pixie dust. He poured the dust over the white / pinkish bloom and it became a fairy with tall wings on her back. She was clothed in her bloom and had long, black hair that fell beyond her waist. She looked around and was surprised by the assembled crowd of fairies, all with smiles on their faces. Some, like a lovely red head, waved hello to her. The new fairy just cocked on eyebrow, unsure how to respond.

Someone announced, "Queen Clarion" and several flittering, fluttering orbs of living light swirled about as they approached the tree. Then those orbs collided in a brilliant flash. A moment later, a beautiful fairy appeared. She was tall, with honey brown hair, blue eyes, glimmering butterfly wings and wearing a crown that matched her long, shimmering dress.

"Born of laughter, clothed in cheer; happiness has brought you here," she said greeting the new arrival. "Welcome to Pixie Hollow. I trust you found your way alright?"

The new fairy with long, dark hair and lavender eyes seemed taken aback by the question. Then she crossed her arms, narrowed her eyes and answered, "Well, I'm here aren't I?"

The other fairies gasped in horror. No one talked to the queen that way. Suddenly, the mood changed. A minute ago, all the fairies were glad to see this new arrival. Now some were murmuring to each other, wondering if this one was going to be trouble.

The queen chuckled, "Yes, I suppose you're right." The queen set the fairy's wings and helped her to fly. The new fairy seemed most taken by this ability, zipping around the arrival area before settling down at a grand sight unfolding before her. Several mushroom pedestals popped up from nowhere. Fairies in different color clothes brought out icons that represented something important to each of them.

"What are these?" she asked the queen.

"These will help you find your talent?"

"And I'll know which one mine is by… what, a nametag?"

The queen chuckled again, "If only it were that easy. You will know when the time comes."

"Oka-ay." The newcomer walked over to a pedestal with a floating ball of water. She reached for it, but the water ball simply dropped and poured out all over the floor. The fairies dressed in blue looked rather disappointed. Then the new fairy touched a flower, which turned dark and wilted.

"Oh," mourned the redhead who was watching. She had a sweet smile.

Then the new fairy walked up to a hammer, suspended in air above another pedestal. She took hold of it, but it fell out of her hand. A stout looking woman with brown hair and dressed in green actually looked relieved by this development. The dark haired fairy saw this and glared in response. "I don't like green anyway," the young girl muttered.

When she finally came to a spinning cloud of dust, something amazing happened. It rose from its spot and glowed. Each time a fairy finds his or her talent, the symbol of that talent glows, its brightness revealing the strength of that fairy's talent.

This spinning vortex glowed so brightly it blinded everyone in attendance. Even the queen had to shield her eyes. Never in the long history of Pixie Hollow had a talent glow been so bright. Not even for Rosetta.

"I guess you're not the most talented fairy anymore," said one of her friends.

"Well, it had to happen sometime," she said with a pleasant, but regretful smile.

"Why her," whispered the stout woman in green to a lanky fellow with a shock of red hair and thick water goggles. Fortunately, the new arrival didn't hear that comment.

The queen turned to a group of fairies dressed in purple and announced, "Fast flyers, welcome the newest member of your talent guild, Vidia!"

Vidia, was presented to her new guild mates who embraced her immediately as one of their own.

"Wow, I can't believe how talented you are," one of the purple clad flyers said in awe.

"We are so lucky to have you in our guild," said another.

"You're going to love being a fast flyer, Vidia," a third said, putting his arm around her in greeting. "We're the best guild in all of Pixie Hollow. No other even comes close. Be proud that you're a fast flyer."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire had dropped off Tina at school. She was late and had to explain to one of the administrators what happened. Now she was on the way to the renovation job site when her cell phone rang. The owner of The Rabbit Hole called to inform her that Valerie was at the bar and that if she didn't pick up the girl right away he was going to have her arrested…, for solicitation.

* * *

**Note: Kathryn Nolan in Storybrooke is Princess Abigail in the Enchanted Forest.**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading. Please leave a review.  
**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 2**

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Interregnum Period on the Mainland)

Vidia was given a brief tour of Pixie Hollow. Her two guides, fast flyers Swift and Festus, were eager for her to become familiar with the different seasons. In the Spring Valley they showed her the cherry blossom trees, babbling brook and where the other talents spent their days prepping the animals for transport to the mainland for the spring season. In the Summer Glade, they showed her the colorful flowerbeds the garden fairies tended.

"This is where you'll be spending most of your time, Vidia," Festus told her. "We gather pollen into pots. Some of it goes to the mainland and some of it stays here so the garden fairies can keep growing new flowers."

"Watch this," Swift said. He descended to the flower bed where the red haired garden talent named Rosetta was working. Swift starting talking to her. Soon, she was blushing and then giggling. Finally, Swift reached over and kissed her on the cheek. Rosetta nearly swooned and looked totally love struck as he flew back to his companions.

"What was that about?" Vidia asked him. "You like her?"

Swift replied that he was stringing her along. "As long as she thinks I've got eyes for her, she'll make all the pollen we need for the spring." Flyers competed with garden fairies for pollen, the more flowers they grew the easier it was for the flyers to meet their annual quota.

"Isn't that kind of mean?" Vidia asked him.

"Now you're catching on," Swift replied. "Remember, we're the elite talent class. The fast flyers are what every other guild wants to be, but can't."

"Exactly," Festus said in agreement. "Be proud of what you are, Vidia. Don't let anyone tell you flyers are the same as any other talent. They are just trying to tear us down so they don't have to feel so bad about being inferior to us."

Vidia smiled. She liked feeling superior. "I'll remember that."

Festus and Swift took her into the Autumn Woods. She was delighted at the riot of colors found here. Her companions told her this was where she would learn how to blow leaves from the trees during the Fall season on the mainland. "Adult humans hate that because they have to clean up the mess, but their kids can't get enough," Swift informed her. "So we knock down as much as we can."

The two guides then brought Vidia to the border between the Autumn Forest and the Winter Woods. Vidia was amazed by what she saw. Like a sheer curtain, the cool, crisp environment of Autumn transformed into a glistening white carpet just the other side of the river. She plowed on ahead, excited to experience this wonderland. Festus flew out ahead of the eager, young flyer.

"STOP!" he cried. "Do not ever cross this border!"

"Why not?" she asked him.

"Here." Vidia was allowed to stick her arm into the winter side. She felt a terrific shiver go up her arm and into her spine. She recoiled, grasping her hand and arm and rubbing them to warm them up they were so cold.

"See? Now imagine what would happen to your wings if you crossed?" Swift explained. "They would freeze solid and break."

"Yup. For that reason alone it is against the law for fairies on either side to cross the border," Festus added.

"Not only that, but we don't tolerate carelessness or stupidity in our guild," Swift informed her. "If you lose your wings for doing something careless, stupid or reckless…"

"…or just plain against fairy common law…"

"…you'll be expelled from the guild forever."

"That sounds awfully harsh," Vidia said.

"Hey, you don't get to be the elite talent guild by coddling idiots," Swift told her. "So, don't be an idiot."

"Are you an idiot?" Festus asked her, his face right up into hers.

She backed away. "No. No, of course not. I'm a fast flyer, we're not idiots. Never."

"Good. Just what we wanted to hear," Swift replied.

"Yeah, cause you don't want to be cursed to live at ground level for the rest of your life."

"Ground level? Vidia asked.

The two smiled at each other. "Time for you to see your new home in The Nest."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire drove up to The Rabbit Hole and saw Valerie's motorcycle in the parking lot again. The sheriff's Ford Crown Victoria was parked right next to it.

_Oh no, she's getting arrested. I can't afford the bail money right now_, Claire thought. Inside, Sheriff Graham was seated at the bar. Men were gathering around the dart board where Valerie was shooting a game against an opponent. She was winning handily.

Claire walked to Graham and asked, "Are you going to arrest her?"

"I thought I would give you a chance to handle this before I got involved," he said. That was how this town worked. Unlike the impersonal big city, in Storybrooke, the sheriff was willing to allow families to resolve internal spats if he thought it was a better alternative than simply making an arrest. In this place, everyone knew everyone else's business and arrests always made their way into the newspaper. Something like that could scandalize and embarrass a family to their neighbors and friends.

"I asked the bartender to give you a call when he told me to arrest her," Graham told Mrs. Kensington. "She's been hustling the men at the dart boards ever since she arrived. Valerie has added a new wrinkle that I thought you should know about."

When the dart game ended, Val's opponent dropped his money on the table and walked off, unhappy, but not particularly angry. Then Valerie made an announcement that stunned Claire.

"All right, for all of you newcomers here are the rules," she said in a loud voice. She held up a large wad of money. "The name of the game is Cricket. If you can beat me, five will get you ten; fifty gets you one hundred and five hundred will get you a thousand."

She was playing for big money today, Claire realized.

A tall, trashy looking man walked up and asked the raven haired girl, "What if I put down one thousand? What does that get me?"

Valerie put her hands to her breasts and slowly ran them down her body. "You can have all of this for one…whole…night."

"ABSOLUTELY NOT!" Claire yelled.

"HMMPH, what do you want?" Valeria said gruffly to her mother.

"You will not do this! Now get in the truck this instant, young lady," Claire said angrily.

"NO!" Valerie shot back.

"Do you want to get arrested?"

"I don't care. You made something abundantly clear last night, _mother dear_. The only way I'm going to live my life the way I want to is get out of that hellhole you call a house."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know providing a roof over your head, putting food in your stomach and clothes on your back was considered a hellhole in this country," Claire roared.

"You treat me like I don't matter, so I'm leaving. It's not like you'll ever miss me," Valerie answered. "Okay, who wants in?"

"I do!" Claire said. She put down a wad of money. One thousand dollars. "Here are the rules, if you win this money is yours and you can go live where ever you want and do as you please. But if I win, you come with me and do as I say."

"Hello! Mother on daughter, I'd pay to see that," the trashy man said with a gleeful smile.

"SHUT UP! You're a pervert!" Claire yelled at the man.

"You come home with me and you stop acting like a spoiled brat," Claire demanded of Valerie. "You show up to work on time, you do your job like everyone else and you sell that death machine you have parked outside."

"Fine, but I won't lose."

Claire was taking a huge risk doing this. That money was owed to the pawnbroker Mr. Gold on a loan he made to her so she could keep the business afloat. Her savings were running low and she needed money to pay day laborers, buy equipment and pay her income tax bill. The collateral she put up for the loan was the house. If she lost the money and couldn't find a way to pay the man, she would lose the house and everything in it.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

The female bandit was gathering her few personal belongings, which included a necklace. The pendant attached was a clear, decorative vial which contained some kind of glittering dust. After donning a cloak to hide her identity she exited her hiding place, the entrance of which was giant, hollow log. She had to keep moving. When you steal from a peasant no one cares, but steal from a royal and they will come searching for you. A fact that was brought home when a huge net captured her and pulled the woman high into the air.

A man emerged from behind one of the giant pine trees with a look of satisfaction on his face. She recognized him, that prince she stole the bag of jewels from in the woods the other day. The one who said he would find her.

"Is this the only way you can get a date?" she asked in a snippy, defiant tone.

"It's how I catch thieving scum like you," he answered her.

"Charming."

"My name is James," he said.

"Don't care. Charming suits you," she answered, completely unafraid of him.

Prince James demanded his bag of jewels. He explained that these were special, particularly a ring which once belonged to his mother. James was to present it to his new fiancée.

"The nag with the bad attitude?" she said, sounding rather amused. "Good luck with that."

James continued to demand the return of his jewels, but she had sold them. He demanded to be taken to whomever bought them. The bandit steadfastly refused. At least until he revealed his ace in the hole. James pulled a wanted poster from his tunic. It identified her as Snow White, wanted by Queen Regina for numerous crimes against the crown. If she didn't take him to the jewels, he would turn her over to the queen.

"She won't be as 'charming' as I am," he said, turning her own words against her.

With no other recourse, Snow White agreed.

**~O~**

During their journey Snow White and Prince James began to talk. He noticed the pendant hanging from her neck. She refused to discuss it. James snatched it from her and Snow White pleaded for its return. The vial contained a special kind of fairy dust that could turn an enemy into something easily defeated. She was saving it for someone in particular.

"The Queen," James immediately surmised. Snow White told him that the accusations on the wanted posters were phony. Regina wanted her because Snow had ruined Regina's life.

At a river, Snow stopped for a drink and to wash her face. It was only a ruse as the woman knocked Prince James into the river. She made her escape only to be surrounded by Regina's black clad knights. By the queen's order, they were going to cut out her heart. They were stopped by James who had climbed out of the river and assailed one of the nights from afar with a dagger. Then he attacked, engaging the men in a swordfight and defeating them handily

During the fracas, Snow made for a horse but was taken up by one of the knights on horseback. James took a bow and arrow and cut down the rider, freeing the bandit. Feeling obligated, Snow White guided Prince James to their destination.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire had started the game of Cricket rather shakily and fell behind quickly. Valerie was certain she was going to win and get her independence. Her mother, though, soon found her groove. Claire used to play darts in college and had gotten very good at it. She hadn't played since getting married, but it was all coming back to her now. Claire began to close out numbers that Valerie had opened to prevent her from scoring additional points. Meanwhile, she also hit numerous times in numbers she had opened to catch up in the score.

Valerie, who had to the most to lose, was beginning to feel the pressure. Her aim began to drift. She failed to close out the twenty and Claire nailed it for a double and two triples, pulling close. Next, Valerie shot for the Bullseye and hit around it. Claire managed to close it by hitting the center ring once and the outer ring once. The third shot went back to the twenty pulling her ahead of Valerie for the first time all game.

A huge crowd had gathered and were amazed by how close the game had become. With each strike, the electronic board tallied up the score and kept track of which numbers were open and which were closed. All that was left was one strike on the twenty and two for the seventeen. The twenty was Valerie's to close out. The seventeen, whether by accident or design had never been opened by either woman and it became the focus for both players. Claire, having opened or closed all the other numbers from 15 – 20 except this one only needed two hits to finish the game.

Valerie needed all three to open it and score more points. She couldn't score in the twenty since Claire had opened that number. She could only close the number with a strike and take it out of play. But she couldn't do that just yet. If she closed the twenty and then successfully opened the seventeen in that order the game would end with Val short of points. Claire would win. She had to keep the twenty open, even though it exposed her. Claire could keep scoring points in that number, but it was now the only way to win. However, it all hinged on her mother not making the needed shots to close out seventeen. If she did, then the rest was academic.

It was Claire's turn. She hit the seventeen with her first shot, one more to win. Valerie's heart sunk like a rock. Claire's second shot missed right and hit the two in the treble ring. No points were added since numbers below fifteen are not part of Cricket. It all came down to this. If her mother ended the game on this shot, Valerie would have to give up everything she wanted. If she missed, Val could hit the seventeen with a double and a single or a triple to open it and take the lead then hit the twenty to win the game.

Claire drew in a few deep breaths to calm her nerves. She took the last dart and lined up her shot. The onlookers went deathly silent. Claire drew back and let her dart fly.

It struck seventeen. Game over. Claire had successfully filled her game board and had the higher score.

Mrs. Kensington reclaimed her thousand dollars and took her daughter by the arm and dragged her out of the bar. Valerie, defiant in any way she could, wasn't going to ride in that truck. She wriggled free and jumped on her bike.

"Valerie! Valerie that was not in our agreement. You get back here this instant, young lady," Claire shouted. The noise of the twin cam engine drowned out Claire's voice. Unable to reason with her, she climbed into the old work truck and tried to follow the disobedient girl. Valerie turned into a residential neighborhood with Claire right behind, trying not to break the speed limit. It soon dawned on Claire that Valerie was going to the renovation site. When she pulled up to the house, there was Valerie, putting on gloves and donning a hard hat. She was clearly pissed. The girl ducked into the house and started working, cursing her mother under her breath for the rest of the day.

**~O~**

The bell for lunch sounded at the high school. Tina got in line for today's special, mystery meat. It looked like chopped steak, but no one really knew what was in it. While waiting to be served the awful stuff her phone jingled. She answered.

"Hi, Tina!" It was Clarence.

Tina was visibly excited. "Hi! I mean, hi."

He chuckled. "I'm calling because I wanted to tell you something. I bought a car."

"You did? That's awesome!"

"Yeah, you want to come by this weekend and take a drive in it?"

"Would I? Of course I wou-. Oh wait, my mother has some family thing planned. I hate those."

"Oh, well, maybe another time," he said, sounding very disappointed.

"No, wait. I'll think of something. I'll be there this weekend."

"I don't want to keep you away from family time."

"Please, you'll be doing me a favor. All Mom and Valerie do these days is argue and glare at each other."

"Okay, if I'm not getting you in any trouble."

"Nope, no trouble at all."

Tina said goodbye and put her phone back into its holster. _I'll just tell Mom I'm studying. She'll let me out of anything if she thinks I'm studying._

* * *

**Yay, new chapter. I hope I got the rules correct for Cricket. If I'm wrong, please don't tell me. Well, okay, tell me.  
**

**Thanks to everyone who has posted a review and to everyone who has been reading. Thank you all, very much. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 3**

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Interregnum Period on the Mainland)

To be properly presented to the others in her guild, Vidia was first taken to the dressmakers. A clothing talent sized her up immediately and asked if Vidia knew what style of clothing she wanted. Vidia wasn't sure yet, so the clothing fairy quickly made up a pretty purple two piece outfit. A pullover top with no sleeves and a dress with petals for a hemline. Lastly, a pair of shoes with the toes slightly curled up finished the ensemble.

Vidia wasn't sure about it. "A dress doesn't exactly feel like me," she said.

"Don't worry about it," Festus told her. "Once you figure out your style, the clothing talents will make it for you."

"And it will be a perfect fit every time," the dressmaker said.

**~O~**

From the dressmakers the trio flew off towards the piney woods. Here, situated high up in the trunks of the pine trees was the fast flyer's home village which they referred to as The Nest. Holes with doors indicated homes for the fairies. Each of the flyers dressed in purple.

"It's our guild colors," Swift explained.

Running between the many towering trees were catwalks, though hardly anyone used them. Surrounding the trunks where a door was found were planks of wood making a porch with a railing. On these porches Vidia found personal touches and decorations. Plants, feathers, tapestries and anything else that helped make each house a home for its resident flyer.

Vidia was shown to her place, a large one room apartment. It had several amenities available to her including a bed, sofa, table, chairs, a recliner, running water in a sink and even a kitchenette. Two windows on opposite sides let in the morning and evening sunlight. The place, however, was rather bland. "It's yours to decorate as you please," Festus said.

"Who made these rooms?" Vidia asked.

Woodpeckers under the guidance of the animal fairies carved out the rooms. The walls, floors and ceilings were smoothed and finished by the tinker fairies. They even included several flourishes like a carving in the wall with the fast flyer guild symbol.

"They did all of this?"

"Uh huh, they even make the furniture for us," Swift commented.

"Fascinating, if I couldn't be a fast flyer then I would want to be a tinker," Vidia said with awe.

Both Swift and Festus nearly choked on their own tongues. "You do not want to be a part of that nasty guild," Swift told her. "Trust us. They are the last guild you want to be born into. Worse than even the animal fairies."

"Really? Why?"

"C'mon, you'll see."

"I thought we we're going to meet with the other fast flyers?" she asked.

"Yeah, but right now we need to educate you on the perils of being a tinker fairy," Festus answered.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Barely an hour after arriving at the renovation house and just before her scheduled lunch break, Claire received a call from the sheriff. Her thoughts immediately went to Valerie, but the girl was hard at work slathering mud on dry wall.

"Mrs. Kensington, you're needed at the Collingsworth place," he told her. "She has a complaint."

In the background she could hear an extremely irate Desiree Collingsworth screaming, "You're damn right I've got a complaint. That woman is a thief."

"I'll be right there, Sheriff." In a flash Claire was back in the truck and on her way. Mrs. Kensington was worried. This was the house with the bad sewer line that the hired help just finished replacing. Hopefully the work wasn't faulty. She would have to pay out of her own pocket to fix it. She couldn't afford such an outlay.

Desiree Collingsworth was a minor celebrity in Storybrooke. She was one of the hosts of _Storybooke This Morning_, the early morning talk show that Claire watched while cooking breakfast for Val and Tina. Desiree had money and a public forum to express her discontent whenever she felt like it and she often did. The woman was the demanding, aristocratic type with a fiery temper to match her red hair and screechy southern drawl. She held back nothing and could wither even the staunchest soul. Only Mayor Regina Mills or Mr. Gold could frighten this woman.

When she arrived at the large house Claire could see the irate tv host standing in her backyard talking with the sheriff. Next to the law officer was a well-dressed African American gentleman. That was Sidney Glass, the lead reporter for the town's newspaper, The Daily Mirror. It wasn't enough that she might get a bad review on television, but the newspaper might do a story on it. Talk about a double whammy.

"Hello, Sheriff Graham. Hello, Mr. Glass. Good morning Ms. Collingsworth," she greeted, a worried smile on Claire's face. "What seems to be the problem?"

"The problem?!" the Collingsworth woman screeched. "The problem? I'll tell you what the problem is, Mrs. Kensington. You're a thief is what the problem is!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ladies, ladies please," Graham said, trying to intercede. "Let's not do anything we might regret."

"She already did, sheriff," Desiree yelled. "Arrest her for Grand Larceny. For Grand Theft. For Grand something."

"What did she supposedly steal?" Mr. Glass asked the angry redhead. "My iPad, that's what. I use it to prepare and coordinate for my show. I need it this weekend so I can be ready for Monday morning and this little weasel stole it from me."

"Enough!" Graham insisted. "Did you see Mrs. Kensington steal your tablet computer?"

"No, it wasn't her directly," Desiree said. She told the sheriff that yesterday, the workmen were backfilling the hole they had to dig up to replace the old sewer line. One of the men needed to come into the house to use the facilities. Collingsworth was certain he was the person who stole her precious iPad.

"Maybe he fancies himself a modern day Robin Hood," Desiree cooed. "You know, steal from poor little rich girls like me to give to the great unwashed masses. Like her."

Claire stiffened at the insult.

Desiree went on to say how with the job complete she went to work this morning and couldn't find her iPad. She spent the better part of the day exhaustingly make her personal secretary search the studio and then the large dream house. The Collingsworth woman always seemed to emphasize that her home was "large" and a "dream house." However, despite all the work that the secretary had done, the iPad was nowhere to be found.

"I know one of her people stole it," Collingsworth yelled. "They work for you so I'm holding you responsible. Don't you do things like background checks on your people before hiring them? If my property can't be found then I'll take this matter to court where I'm sure I'll be able to get my say."

_She's said enough already_, Claire thought.

Graham asked Mrs. Kensington to produce a list of her employees. Embarrassed, Claire had to confide in the sheriff that she had used day labor. Ever since Charlie's death, Claire had much difficulty running the business and had to cut costs by letting go the regular workers Charlie relied on. She would call them in on an as needed basis. For work like this, where the digging didn't need trained individuals who would charge a high hourly rate, she hired day laborers.

"YOU WHAT?" Desiree screeched again. "Day labor? You let those mongrels on my property? In my house? I'll sue, so help me I will."

"That's enough," Graham instructed Ms. Collingsworth.

"Your husband would never let day laborers dirty up his good reputation," Collingsworth stated. "God rest his soul, but if he could see you now that man would be sorely disappointed. I know I am."

"Ms. Collingsworth that will do," Sheriff Graham said with forcefulness in his voice. He turned back to Claire and asked for a list of all the people she had hired the last few days. She pulled out a notebook with all the names on her payroll. It listed what days were worked, the number of hours and rate of pay. Graham thanked Claire for the cooperation and set about to investigate.

"And what about Ms. Collingsworth's tablet computer," Sidney Glass queried.

"Most likely whoever stole it might try to pawn it at Mr. Gold's shop." Graham would have the pawnbroker contact his office with information. He got a list of all distinguishing marks from Collingsworth, including a serial number and the fact that it was engraved on the back. That should make it easy to recover.

Sidney then tried to pester Claire for a comment on the accusation. She would only give a no comment before getting back into her truck. Claire was shaken by the ordeal. This had the potential to drastically hurt her business. The reputation her husband had worked so hard to build up had been slowly fading since his death. This would be the nail in the proverbial coffin.

Mrs. Kensington was at wits end. She had already dealt with her ever increasingly defiant daughter earlier this morning. Now there was this accusation of theft which could become a front page news story. She felt her already fragile standard of living slipping away. If this broke into a scandal, and in this town it was a scandal, her days as a contractor would be over. She could lose the house before the end of the year. It would make for the worst Christmas her family had ever suffered.

What hurt more, however, were those awful words. _Charlie would be so disappointed in her_. Would he? She was letting down her husband, her two children and herself. It all got to her while she was driving back to the renovation house. Claire started to breath erratically and her vision wasn't right. She wasn't exactly certain where she was anymore. Anxiety set in. Anxiety of the present and an uncertain future began overwhelming her.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Interregnum Period on the Mainland)

"Smell that?"

Vidia, Swift and Festus all took a deep breath. All three nearly wretched.

"Oh, what is that?" she asked wincing.

"That, sweetie, is the sweaty, steamy smell of the tinker fairies," Festus told her.

"Tinker fairies? They should be named Stinker fairies. Woo, that's bad," Swift joked. "Notice that they live and work in a big hole in the ground?" Vidia nodded. "Know why? It's so that their disgustingly horrid B.O. doesn't foul the rest of Pixie Hollow. I mean who wants to smell that all day?"

"I hear some of them don't even take baths," Festus added. "They just build up layer upon layer of dirt and sweat and never wash it off."

"Ugh, that's awful," Vidia said feeling a bit nauseous. "How can they stand it?"

"I guess you just don't have any sense of smell when you're born a tinker," Festus said with a sly grin.

Swift pointed out that all flyers were required to bathe regularly. At least once a day. "Festus here bathes twice a day. Once in the morning and a second time before bed."

"Yup, and I always smell oh so sweet."

It was also required for flyers to keep their wings clean. No one wants to see a fast flyer with dirty wings. So wing washing session were held once a week and attendance was mandatory whether it was needed or not.

"Why so much emphasis on things like bathing and wish washing?" Vidia asked.

"To be the best you have to maintain a higher standard than all the other guilds," Festus told her.

"Yeah, if we don't then it gives these stinky tinkers and animal fairies all the ammunition they need to claim they're equal to us," Swift added.

"And we're not, right?" Vidia half said, half asked.

"Nope, we're better. Superiority isn't just what we do, it's what we're born with," Swift said with emphasis. "But you can't claim to be superior if you act inferior."

"Got it," Vidia said. "I am going to like being a fast flyer."

"Good, now, it's time to present you to your new guild mates."

**~O~**

Vidia was taken from Tinker's Nook to a large structure built into the thickest tree in the piney woods not far from The Nest.

"This is our tavern, The Happy Flyers Wind Riding Club" Festus pointed out. The three went inside. Vidia saw several fairies wearing purple. Each of them had longer wings compared to the other fairies who were also there. The extra length meant flyers could grab more air and move through the air faster.

Every guild had a watering hole like this, Vidia was told, and each one was open to every guild in Pixie Hollow by order of the queen. But the fast flyers didn't like sharing their space with the others, so every night they would shut the doors to the other guilds, allowing only the flyers to have the hall entirely to themselves. Swift told her, "It's what we like to call, taking out the trash."

"Attention everyone, attention!" Swift yelled from atop an empty table. "I would like you all to meet our newest guild member, Vidia. She also has the distinction of having the greatest talent glow ever seen at an arrival ceremony. And she is ours. So the rest of you poor saps can just eat your hearts out."

The flyers in the club stood up and cheered. They whooped, hollered, applauded, and banged their cups on the table and pretty much made a huge racket to welcome their latest addition.

"Do us proud, Vidia," one flyer shouted.

"We'll help you all we can," another said.

"You ended up in the right talent guild," a third yelled.

"Okay, okay. Now, who wants to be the first to buy this lovely lady a drink?" Swift asked. Every sparrow man in the room, even those from other guilds, jumped up out of their seats practically begging to be her first benefactor.

"Welcome to the Fast Flyers' Talent Guild, Vidia," Swift told her. "Get used to people doing your bidding, it's what we strive for."

* * *

**Thanks to Tabithaeconwood, Clarionromance23, I Luv Milarion 1201, Milarionized, Larki13, Milarionfan, Julie662 and Rosie0522 for all of your wonderful reviews. Thanks to everyone who has been reading my story. I am ever so grateful for your loyal readership.**

**Note: The name for the Happy Flyers Wind Riding Club was inspired by the real life Happy Bottom Riding Club where test pilots used to hang out during the days of test flying jets at Edwards Air Force Base. It was featured in the film _The Right Stuff_.**

**If you haven't looked it up on Wikipedia yet like I did, The Interregnum Period in England occurs between 1649 and 1660 during which England suffered through quite a bit of political unrest and upheaval beginning with the removal of a monarch and ending with the restoration of the monarchy. It makes for a good read, but don't take my word for it.**

**Lord Milori / Hartley Winter will be featured in the next chapter.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 4**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma Swan was sitting at an outdoor table in front of Granny's Diner. She was perusing the newspaper still looking for an apartment or room to rent. Emma was becoming more and more concerned with Henry's well-being. She had decided to stay in town more than a week to watch over him and make sure her son was in good hands. A cup of hot coffee sat in front of her. She took a sip and saw a middle aged man exiting the hardware store a few doors down.

The man was rather tall; she judged him to be about six foot two or six three. He had salt and pepper hair with more white than black. The man was dressed in a one piece work uniform. Emma took another sip of her coffee before going back to her paper.

"Nothing in this town for rent," she said. "That is so weird." She amusingly entertained the idea that maybe Henry's curse didn't want her to find a place to stay.

"More coffee?" a pleasant female voice asked her. Her waitress was Ruby a tall, dark haired beauty whom she had seen her first day in Storybrooke. She was the girl arguing with her grandmother at the Inn. "Granny" as everyone called her owned both the diner and the inn. Ruby, it turned out, was her granddaughter. The woman was dressed in the most inappropriate attire for waitressing. Her long hair had streaks of red, which were accented by ruby red lips, bright red hot pants and even brighter red stiletto heels. Ruby's work shirt was mostly unbuttoned creating a plunging neckline and was tied off at the bottom, baring the young woman's midriff.

Despite her status in Storybrooke as the easiest woman in town, Ruby still possessed a cheery personality and winning smile. Emma thought it ironic because she embodied the old cliché of the whore with a heart of gold.

"Sure, Ruby, top me off," Emma replied, holding her half empty cup. When the cup was filled, Ruby looked up and waved to someone. Ms. Swan saw that same man wave back. He smiled at the waitress pleasantly and stepped into the street, walking towards the diner.

"Your friend is here," Ruby yelled nicely to the man. Emma was able to get a closer look. Although she couldn't be certain his features looked European, possibly British. He had a strong jaw, nice smile and charming looks.

"Coffee?" Ruby asked. The man nodded from the street. "Okay." Ruby waved again and was about to go into the diner when she noticed something approaching the pedestrian. Emma saw it, too and yelled, "Hey! Hey!" pointing at the vehicle. The man looked a bit confused, and then turned to see the truck bearing down on him. Emma tackled him, pushing the man out of the way of the oncoming vehicle. She had leapt from her table and into the street with a flash.

The truck screeched to a halt.

"Aren't you paying attention to the road?" Emma yelled to the driver. "You could have gotten someone killed."

The driver, a middle aged woman that Emma recognized, but couldn't immediately place, stepped out of the truck. She appeared badly shaken. "Did I hit anyone? Are you okay?" the driver asked, her voice trembling.

Ruby, the carafe still in her hand, came running into the street. "Claire, are you alright? What happened?"

"I..., I don't know," she replied anxiously. "Did I hurt anyone?"

"You nearly ran this guy over," Emma yelled, furious. That's when Ms. Swan noticed the ball cap. The same one she saw while in jail. This was Claire Kensington. Her older daughter was the one who had been brought in by the sheriff for hustling people at the bar.

Emma calmed down a bit. "You could have run this man over," she said in a more civil tone of voice.

Claire looked over to where the man was now standing. She gasped. "Did I hurt you, sir?" she asked him, aghast.

"I'm fine, this young lady pushed me out of the way just in time," he said, pointing to Emma.

Claire started to breath rapidly and shallow. She leaned up against the truck and looked disoriented. "Not again, not again, not again," she kept mumbling.

"Are you alright?" Ruby asked her. "She doesn't look very good."

"I think she's having a panic attack," Emma said. "We need to get her to the hospital."

"I'll take her," the middle aged man said.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked him. "You might need a doctor, too."

"Well, then it's lucky I'm going to a hospital," he said with a grin.

Claire began to hyperventilate. "Ruby, get a bag," Emma instructed. The young woman dashed into the diner and returned a few seconds later with a brown paper bag. Emma put the mouth of the bag to Claire's face to help her regain her normal breathing. When she did, Ruby and Emma helped Claire into the passenger side of the truck. The man stepped up into the driver's side.

"Ruby, would you please be a dear and tell Ned I won't make it for lunch," he told the waitress in a smooth baritone. He spoke with an English accent that sounded of sophistication and education.

"Sure thing, Hartley," the waitress replied.

"Thank you, Ruby." He turned to Emma. "Thank you, Miss..,uh-."

"Swan, Emma Swan," she answered.

"Thank you, Ms. Swan, for your timely intercession."

"Yeah, sure, no problem."

He smiled, and then drove off towards Storybrooke General Hospital.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (the Restoration Period on the Mainland)

Vidia had noticed some of her guild wearing purple feathers in their clothing. Swift told her that the plumage came from a handful of rare birds that lived only on Never Land Island. The last of their kind, he said. Every year the birds molted, losing all of their feathers. Fast flyers gathered them to give out to those members of the guild who had earned them through some act of bravery or excellence. It was a mark of respect and gave the wearer a certain amount of status within the guild. The more feathers one earned, the more respect and the higher the status.

Vidia wanted to know how she could earn them. Festus said he had some ideas. Tasks to perform that, if done to their satisfaction, would qualify her to earn a rare purple feather.

Her training thus far had been mostly tedious, though nothing too demanding for Pixie Hollow's most talented fairy. What she hated was all of the hazing she was forced to endure. It was humiliating and frustrated her to no end. Yet she held her tongue. Vidia was told at the beginning that to become a well-rounded and accepted member of the guild she had to make it through all of the hazing rituals.

"You can speak to no one of this," Swift and Festus mandated. If she talked to one of the other guild members they might accidentally tell her what to expect. That would be cheating. If she went to the guild master or Queen Clarion, she would be vilified as a coward for not enduring what everyone else had to.

"You'll be forced to live in the sour plum tree," they told her. The sour plum tree was a small, scraggly tree that grew at the edge of cliff which overlooked the pine forest and The Nest. This, according to Swift and Festus, was where cowards and traitors went to live. The door opened to ground level, an insult to fast flyers, she had been told. Second, by overlooking the forest, it was a daily reminder of what they had lost and could never get back.

She absolutely didn't want to live there in shame. Instead, she wanted the respect that the feathers represented. Since she was the greatest talent in the guild and all of Pixie Hollow, Vidia had to set the standard and earn as many feathers as she could.

Festus and Swift were more than willing to oblige.

Her first task was to go outside the boundaries of Pixie Hollow into the wild lands to the southwest. Blueberries grew there. These were the same kind of berries that the garden fairies grew for use in the kitchens. However, because they grew wild rather instead of being carefully cultivated, the taste of these berries was different. They had more zing and a stronger flavor. The cultivated berries were grown specifically for use in cooking. The wild berries were best eaten with cream or all by themselves.

"They are very special and highly prized," Swift told her. So why didn't everyone pick them, Vidia wanted to know. The wild lands were filled with predators that could hurt or kill a fairy. Few would dare venture into the wild lands for any reason, much less berries. The dangers were many.

"You have to watch over shoulder constantly," Festus said. "A snake might gobble you up, or a hawk will grab you. A coyote or wolf might snap you up in one gulp. Barely half of the fairies who venture there make it back."

"Less than half," Swift amended.

"Ri-ight, less than half. Now, are you brave enough to retrieve those berries for us?" Festus asked. "Or should we just give those feathers to another, more worthy flyer?"

Vidia was frightened by the prospect of losing her life. She had just barely arrived. But she wanted those feathers badly. "Okay, I'll do it. I'm no coward."

"Good, meet us at the club tomorrow morning before the sun rises," Swift instructed. "We will take you to that border for your test."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Tina waited outside the school. The final bell rang a while ago and there was no sign of her mother or that ratty old truck she drove. Clarence wasn't on this route today; someone else was, so she never got to talk to him about his car.

The crush of students reduced to a steady stream, then a trickle, now just a smattering. More than half an hour had passed and Tina was getting a bit worried. She sat down in front of the school on a bench and sighed. "Where are you, Mom?"

**~O~**

"Mr. Winter?" a voice called out. Hartley Winter sat in the waiting area of the Emergency Room. When he had arrived with Claire two orderlies came out to help him. Yet once inside she had to wait to see a physician. Finally, a nurse received Mrs. Kensington, taking down all of her necessary information, in this case her insurance. Hartley had no idea where she kept such identification and fumbled through her billfold looking for it. Once checked in, there was more waiting. Finally, Dr. Whale emerged and took Mrs. Kensington to a room for examination. That was the last he had seen of her until now.

"Are you related to the patient?" the nurse asked.

"No, I brought her to be looked after," he said.

"She will be fine," the nurse told him. Without divulging too much personal information about Mrs. Kensington he learned that she had an anxiety attack. "She is calm now and can go home. We recommend that she not drive today."

"Very good," he answered.

**~O~**

Dr. Whale informed Mrs. Kensington that beyond the anxiety, she was under constant high stress and suffered from a lack of sleep and poor nutrition. Further, her blood pressure had spiked to dangerous levels and he prescribed Lisinopril, 10mg daily, to bring it under control.

"You need to be careful or else you'll give yourself a heart attack," he warned her. Claire had complained of chest pains while in the hospital. "Not a fake one, like today," he added, "but a real heart attack. You may not be so lucky in the future."

That was what was bothering her, she explained. Her future, and the future of her children, seemed very uncertain. She described everything that had been bothering her lately, including the events of last night and this morning.

Dr. Whale offered a comforting smile. "Maybe you should spend some time with Doctor Hopper," he suggested. "He might be able to help you overcome your anxieties. Then maybe a solution will present itself to you."

She nodded. "Thank you, Doctor. I will."

When the exam ended, Claire grabbed her things and walked down the hall to the waiting area. Dr. Whale looked over his shoulder at her walking away. "That woman has one nice rack," he said of her. "And her ass isn't bad, either."

A nurse happened by and overheard him. Disgusted, she sneered, "It's nice to know that in our day and age, there are still Neanderthals like you walking around."

Whale turned to her and snapped, "Get back to work."

**~O~**

"How are you feeling?" Hartley asked Mrs. Kensington. Hartley Winter knew of Mrs. Kensington through her now dead husband, Charlie. Though they had never formally met, Hartley had always considered her a beautiful woman and envied Charlie for having married her. "What greater cruelty can be visited upon our gender, then for the loveliest creature to ever walk the earth be put beyond our reach?" he used to say with sly grin.

Hartley was never into American sports like baseball or football. He was an aficionado of British sports teams and avidly followed soccer. Yet he and Charlie often met at the bar to watch the one sport they both liked: horse racing. It was there that the two discussed business deals and kept their association and friendship intact. After Charlie's untimely passing, Hartley stayed away from Claire lest he make a clumsy pass at her and create friction where none existed.

Now, eight years later Hartley still thought Mrs. Kensington was as fetching as the day he first saw her. Somehow, the woman never seemed to age. Ned, Hartley's business partner, caustically suggested she had been using facial creams or had gotten Botox injections. Hartley dismissed it as nonsense and described her as a rare and glorious woman whose beauty does not fade or pass with time.

_Why not ask her out_, Ned often suggested. Hartley wanted to, but he recognized that Claire was still too emotionally attached to the memory of her dead husband to entertain the prospect of romance. Until she was ready to move on, Hartley would keep his distance.

"I'm fine," Claire answered. "I just need rest…, maybe a vacation."

He laughed. "Let me take you home, then."

Claire thanked him. When they got into her truck, however, she remembered something that had been nagging at her for the last half hour. "I have to pick up my daughter from school!"

"Then it is off to collect the dear girl," he said, slipping the vehicle into drive.

**~O~**

At his "castle" Henry met up with Emma. "I know who your father is," he told her. Flipping through his fairy tale book, he came to a page with a rendering of a handsome prince. He said that John Doe was Prince Charming and showed her the picture as proof. Emma didn't see the resemblance. Henry pointed out that the man in the book had a scar, just like John Doe. This proved nothing to Emma.

"Lots of people have scars," she said.

"In the same place?" he asked. Indeed, the comatose John Doe had a scar on the right side of his chin. The exact same place that the Prince Charming had in the color drawing shown in Henry's book. Henry told her that he was Snow White's soul mate. They just didn't realize it yet because the curse was keeping them apart. Henry insisted that they read to John Doe the story of Snow White and Prince Charming to remind him of who he really was. Emma thought it was ridiculous, but went along with it anyway on the condition it be done her way.

Henry agreed.

**~O~**

At the high school, Tina was sitting on a bench when her mother's old work truck drove up.

"Finally, what kept her," she mumbled. However, when Tina neared the vehicle she noticed something most unsettling. A man was driving it, her mother was in the passenger seat. She got very worried.

"Mom? What happened?"

Hartley explained the incident and their diversion to the hospital. "Your mother is well, but she needs rest. Let's take her home, shall we?"

"Okay," Tina replied cautiously. Her mother nodded with approval and the girl hopped into the truck next to Claire while Hartley returned to the driver seat. Before putting the vehicle back into gear he asked if Tina could drive.

"Yeah, I have a learner's permit," she answered.

"Excellent, I need to return to my vehicle at the hardware store," he informed her. "Can you take your mother home from there?"

She nodded. Hartley slipped the vehicle into gear and drove them back to the town square. When they arrived, Mr. Winter kindly took Claire and Tina into the Darkstar Pharmacy where Mrs. Kensington could get her prescription filled.

Before leaving them, he kissed Mrs. Kensington on the back of her hand and said, "Thank you for this wonderfully eventful day."

On the drive home, Claire felt something well up inside her. Something she hadn't felt in eight years.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Restoration Period on the Mainland)

Vidia had successfully made her way through the wild lands outside of Pixie Hollow. She remained vigilant, fearful of the many threats that she knew surrounded her. Though she never saw any such creatures that Swift and Festus had described, they had to be watching her, waiting for the fairy to let her guard down. Then in flash she would be sliding down their gullet.

"Not today," she reassured herself, a defiant tone to her voice. "I'm no one's dinner."

Sprinting from plant to plant, ducking under leaves and inside bushes, Vidia kept her presence hidden. Her progress was slow, but steady. Flying was out of the question. Bats and hawks might catch her in midflight. She kept a close eye on the ground, examining it for the telltale signs of trapdoor spiders. They laid strands of webbing that ran to their burrows. When a creature touched a strand it vibrated, sending a signal to the arachnid that a meal was approaching. In less than a second, the spider would launch from its hiding place, nab its prey and disappear back into the ground before the captured insect knew what happened. She stepped carefully over anything that looked like it might be a strand of spider silk. _I'm a lot smarter than some cricket_, she told herself.

Vidia had also doused herself in a smelly concoction that Swift guaranteed would make her "invisible" to snakes. "They hunt by smell," he told her. "They flick their tongues to taste the scent of fairy in the air." She wasn't sure if this stuff actually worked. It smelled awful. _I think this would make me more visible to the snakes, not less_, she theorized.

Halfway to her destination Vidia had neither seen nor heard anything other than the occasional rustling of the leaves in the shallow breezes. No sounds that would indicate a creature was nearby. Until now…, branches moved and shook in a bush that was close to her. She ducked under some fallen leaves and waited for whatever it was to vacate the area. Relieved, she stood up and kept going. Vidia thought her heart was going to pound its way out of her chest. She took a few deep breaths and calmed herself.

The flyer got closer without incident. Then in the distance she could see the forbidden berries. "That's it," she whispered enthusiastically to herself. All she had to do was collect two of the berries and make it back to the border alive.

"Not so hard." A second later Vidia wished she had kept her big mouth shut. A huge shadow slid across the ground. A terrible shriek filled the air. It also filled her soul with fear.

A hawk! She ducked for cover and remained hidden. The hawk seemed to circle for a long time. At least its shadow did. She was stuck there. "Now what do I do?"

Suddenly, from behind her came the sound of a snake rattle. Now she was stuck. She couldn't leave the cover of the leaves, the hawk would get her. But if she stayed the snake would find her and eat her alive. Her heart pounded harder than it did a minute ago. Bile rose in her throat, her hands and wings shook in stark terror. She started to whimper.

Vidia then took made a bold move. She reasoned that if she hid under a leaf and moved slowly across the ground the hawk may not see her. Taking one of the fallen leaves she held it up over herself, making sure it covered her up completely. Then she took a few steps out into the path ahead of her. She stopped, squatted and watched the shadow pass from behind her to in front of her. She breathed a sigh of relief and started duck walking closer to her goal.

Every time the shadow of the hawk came within her view, she would stop, squat and wait. Then she resume her duck walk. Steadily she closed in on her target, the blueberry bush. The plant was sitting alone in a clearing. The worst place to be when a hawk was circling overheard. Trembling with fear and wishing she had just stayed in bed, Vidia pressed forward. The little fast flyer started making her way across the clearing, getting closer and closer to the berry bearing plant that was at the heart of her quest.

Halfway there she stopped cold. She turned her head to the left and saw them, glistening in the bushes and plants. Two eyes, red as the sun itself. Those two eyes never stopped looking at her, she was frozen, petrified by them. A rustling to her right caused her to yelp and nearly jump out of her skin. The noise came from the branches above. Was it the hawk? No, the hawk was still high up in the sky searching for her. Maybe it was bats. Or something else that could eat her in one gulp?

She bravely took a few more steps only to stop when she spied what looked like spider silk stretched across the ground. _Oh no, trapdoor spiders and I just stepped into its signal web_. She looked around her hoping to make out the door of the arachnid's burrow in the ground.

Vidia spun to her right, she thought something was bobbing up and down in the fallen leaves. Then she saw it from the corner of her eye to the left of her. Then another from behind. _I'm in a nest of them!_

She didn't want to move for fear of giving away her position any further. Then she heard the distinct sound of howling. She gulped, hard! Her legs felt like jelly. The leaf she carried on her back felt like the Island of Never Land itself weighing on her shoulders. The blueberry bush was just a few short feet away.

The flyer couldn't stay and she couldn't move. She had to do something. Carefully, she stepped forward. As her foot left the spider silk a blast of leaves shot out at her.

SPIDERS!

She screamed at the top of her lungs.

Dropping her leaf, Vidia raced for the cover of the blueberry bush. Her legs pumping as hard as they could, pushing her to the safety of the plant. Once inside, she hid among the berries and the dense foliage. She shook and trembled so badly the branches shook right along with her. Her breathing was deep, fast and hard, gulping air and she sounding more frightened with every passing second. Vidia's heart pounded in her chest, ready to burst out at any second. She was surrounded by predators. She made it to her destination, but couldn't leave the protection of the blueberry bush. Vidia would be unable to carry two blueberries and the protective leaf at the same time. Her only option was to wait until sunset, which was still many hours away. If the things that surrounded her didn't find her first.

Vidia was scared out of her mind, hungry, thirsty and convinced she was about to die.

* * *

**Yay, a little Hartley Winter / Lord Milori for everyone. I hope you found this to your liking. I promise more Hartley in future episodes.**

**I want to thank everyone for making this fan fiction a big success. It has already achieved more than one thousand views since the original posting. Give yourselves a big round of applause. You've earned it.**

**I also want to offer my gratitude to everyone who has been contributing reviews to this story. Your feedback makes my day every time.**

**~O~**

**If you are wondering how I came up with the name Hartley Winter, well its actually quite simple.**

**Hartley Winter is a reference / homage to Hartley Winterbottom, a character appearing in the fourth season of he NBC TV Series _Chuck_.**

**_Chuck_, which inhabits many genres at once, is primarily an action-adventure spy thriller / comedy, often parodying the spy movie genre, especially the James Bond films. Why is this important? Because Hartley Winterbottom (a.k.a. Alexei Volkoff a.k.a. Agent X) was played by none other than... wait for it, wait for i-it: Timothy Dalton. Thus the name is both a reference to Lord Milori's role as the Lord of Winter AND a James Bond reference, all rolled into one neat little package.**

**Cool huh?**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 5**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"My apologies, Mrs. Nolan," Hartley said. "I was unavoidably detained. Did my associate visit you today?"

"Yes, he did, Mr. Winter," Kathryn Nolan answered. "He assessed the problem and told me you would be able to fix it."

Kathryn Nolan was an attractive blonde woman in her mid-thirties. She looked sad, even slightly depressed most days. Her husband, David, had left her a while back and she never heard from him again. Their relationship hit many bumps that they could not resolve, so he made the decision to leave. Kathryn had since regretted not trying harder to reconcile with David. Now she lived everyday with the thought she would probably never see him again.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Nolan," Hartley said, "I'll get to it immediately."

She offered him a weak smile. "Thank you."

Hartley already knew that Ned had come by and reviewed the problem. An email was sent to his touchscreen phone detailing what needed to be done. Winter rang the bell and spoke with Kathryn as a courtesy. Learning from Charlie, Hartley went out of his way to speak directly to his customers often and keep them as happy as possible.

Mrs. Nolan's central air and heating system had been on the fritz recently, allowing the temperature to drop below the customer set minimum before kicking in. Then it would shut the heat off prematurely leaving the house chilly. Ned had determined that it was probably a faulty circuit board, but he didn't have the necessary tools or the electronics training needed to be completely certain. Thus, when Hartley was dropped off by Tina and her mother, he picked up his go to nerd: Penelope Steveston.

Penelope, or Penny as she preferred to be called, was just sixteen, but was already an accomplished computer and electronics technician and programmer. She had graduated high school early and was actively taking internet courses from M.I.T. in electrical engineering, with exams proctored locally. Penny earned the bulk of her income from apps written for the iPhone, iPad and Droid tablets and phones. However, she also did tech support for the city and many of the residents and businesses of Storybrooke.

Ms. Steveston stood barely five foot two, was waifishly thin and was a natural platinum blonde. She was energetic and pleasant enough to speak with, but her conversations were often punctuated with words, phrases and acronyms that only another nerd could understand. As far as Hartley was concerned, she may as well have been speaking Klingon.

As it turned out, Penny actually did speak Klingon, fluently, and with the correct accent.

"What's the problem?" she asked Hartley.

He explained the difficulties Mrs. Nolan had been having recently. Penny pulled from her satchel electronic tools specific to the model Mrs. Nolan had in her backyard. Hartley removed the access panel and allowed Penny to test the system. After a few moments, she noted which board was failing and needed replacement. Then she shot off, running like a frightened mouse and squeaking like one, too.

"Penny! Penny, what are you doing?" Hartley called out to her.

She stopped just long enough to point up at the roof. Hartley took a look and found a large bee's nest hanging from the eaves of the home. They were buzzing about and one or two of them were near the unit outside.

"Why is that important?" he asked her.

"I'm allergic," she answered. "One sting and I'm a goner."

He nodded his head in understanding and told Penny to inform the homeowner of the nest. While the young girl went to the front door, Hartley began the repairs on the unit, disconnecting the power to replace the failing circuit board.

The door opened and the homeowner greeted the young girl. "Yes, can I help you?"

"Hi, I work for Mr. Winter and we noticed a HUGE bee's nest hanging over the air conditioner unit," she said.

"What? Where?" Kathryn, led by Penny, walked out to the back yard where the unit was situated and looked up. There she saw the nest. It was almost the size of a football. The surface was crawling with the insects. "I'll call an exterminator right away. Thank you."

Kathryn went back into the house and flipped through the town's yellow pages directory. She found a listing for Jo's Exterminator Services. The ad in the yellow business directory claimed it had high ratings on both Angie's List and the Better Business Bureau. When Mrs. Nolan called she was greeted by an enthusiastic woman. "Thanks for calling Jo's Exterminators. If you got 'em, we kill 'em."

"How reassuring," Kathryn said under her breath. Mrs. Nolan explained the reason for her call. The woman on the other end, Jo, said she could be out there tonight after sunset.

"Why not now?"

"If I spray now the bees will just fly off and come back later," she explained. "But they can't see well enough at night to fly, so they'll just stay there getting soaked by the insecticide and die. One treatment is all it takes and I'll even knock down the nest and carry it away."

Kathryn Nolan, satisfied by the explanation, made and appointment for after sunset that evening.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Restoration Period on the Mainland)

She had wretched several times already. Vidia had been hiding in the blueberry bush for several hours now. The sun was high and her stomach was empty. She ate a light breakfast very early this morning so she wouldn't be weighted down for this excursion. It was now after lunch and Vidia was so, so hungry. The only thing she wanted at this moment was to get out of here alive and eat every plate of food put in front her.

Listening and watching and thinking about the path that got her here, Vidia started to formulate a plan to get out. She was, after all, the fastest and most talented fast flyer in the guild and the most talented fairy in all of Pixie Hollow. That had to count for something even in this situation. She reached out of the safety of the shrubbery and grabbed a fallen leaf. Folding it and forming a sling, she plucked two blueberries and laid them carefully inside. Then she tied it around her neck and shoulder and studied the path in front of her. If she could shoot out at top speed and dart from bush to bush, shrub to shrub she might be able to stay out of danger. The hawk hadn't been seen or heard in hours. Staying off the ground would keep her away from the trap door spiders that seemed to litter the earth here.

"Okay, now someone just give me a push," she muttered. Nothing.

"Okay, I'll give myself a push." Still nothing. She hung her head in shame.

_How can I be a respected fast flyer if I can't even do this?_ She asked herself.

_How can you be anything if you get eaten, stupid?_ Was her reply.

Yet, if she stayed here indefinitely she would die of dehydration or starvation. More ways to die than to live.

Vidia shot out of the blueberry bush and disappeared into a nearby shrub.

_I did it! I can't believe I did it!_ It was a heady feeling. _Okay, now don't get cocky, but you've made the first step and that's the hardest one. You can do this._

Another quick flight and into another bush. She zipped across the pathway, moving this way and that finding safe havens along the way. Vidia heard no sounds from the creatures that frightened her earlier. No rattling of snakes, no screeching of hawks, nothing bobbed up and down from under the blanket of fallen leaves. It seemed safe, so she took a chance. Instead of darting into the nearest shrub, she dared to rocket down the path towards the exit. Towards the safety of the border at Pixie Hollow.

Blasting out of her cover, Vidia flapped her wings faster and faster. Her eyes darted about looking for anything even remotely dangerous. Halfway there, Vidia began to feel her confidence swell. She felt good, the nausea drained from her, her lips curled into a cautious smile. Vidia was going to make it.

She felt so good about herself that Vidia began to relax, she reached a point where the predators that could eat a fairy were now far behind. All that remained was to reach the boundary of Pixie Hollow and claim her prize. Vidia sighed with relief. She shouldn't have, for if she hadn't then the low hanging branch that knocked her out of the air could have been avoided.

Getting to her feet, Vidia felt something wet against her body. She peered inside the sling and found that one of the blueberries was squashed. She nearly panicked. The requirements were that two blueberries had to be delivered _unharmed _to the border. Now she would have to go back into that rat's nest to get another blueberry. Part of her just wanted to get this over with and plead her case to the two guys who had sent in there. Part of her wanted to go back and prove she was more than worthy of that purple feather. After all, this was a test of her nerves. To complete this task meant facing her fears. If she was unwilling to go back and pick another blueberry then how could she say that her fears had been suitably conquered?

Vidia stood there, deep in thought while contemplating her next move.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

The old GMC truck rattled down the residential road, Tina was at the wheel while her mother sat in the driver's seat. With the house in sight, Mrs. Kensington suddenly demanded that Tina turn around and go back to the town square.

"What? Why?"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I forgot to pay Mr. Gold," she explained, clearly wishing she could just go home and nap. "The money is due today or else we'll lose the house."

Mr. Gold was nothing like those loudmouthed idiots on Pawn Stars. He was a serious man who did not tolerate late payments, even if the borrower had always been on time in the past. Tina turned the vehicle around and drove back to the main street and the pawn shop.

**~O~**

"Henry thinks that John Doe is Prince Charming," Emma said to Mary Margaret.

"And if I'm Snow White then we're meant to be together," Mary Margaret concluded, rather amused.

Emma's only real friend in town was Mary Margaret Blanchard, Henry's schoolteacher. She had bailed Emma out of jail despite barely knowing her at the time. Now she had offered to let Emma stay in her empty room, though Emma hadn't agreed to anything yet. Yet Mary Margaret was a friend to confide in, a girlfriend to talk to and a friend to hang out with.

Now, however, Henry's assertion that Mary Margaret and John Doe were somehow soul mates was so out there that Emma had to do something to put his daydreams to rest. She didn't want to just tell him he's nuts, it would crush Henry's spirits and permanently drive him away. So instead, Emma recruited Mary Margaret.

She told Mary Margaret what Henry had in mind. "You should read that story to him," Emma told Mary Margaret.

Mary Margaret was taken aback by the suggestion. Emma said that when nothing happens it will finally convince Henry to drop this fairy tale nonsense. Mary Margaret thought it was crazy, but a great plan.

"I better go get ready for my date. I guess I'll be doing all the talking."

**~O~**

A single vehicle was blocking their path. The driver was slow and holding them up. Although they had plenty of time before Mr. Gold closed up shop, Claire's nerves were shot and she just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. Now this jerk was in the way.

"C'mon, c'mon, move," Mrs. Kensington muttered. She rolled her eyes, wrung her hands and shook her head in disgust. Finally, she rolled down the window and started yelling. "Hey, stupid! Get your fat ass off the road. Yeah! You! Get off the…, sorry. Sorry, Mother Superior. I've had a very bad day. No, your ass is not fat. And you're not stupid. My apologies. …yes, we will be there next weekend to mow the lawn for free like always. Again, sorry."

Claire rolled up the window and then buried her head into her hands. "I just called a nun a stupid fat ass. I'm going to Hell."

"Mom, were not religious," Tina reminded her. "We don't believe in Hell."

"I kno-ow!"

A few minutes later, they pulled up to the Mr. Gold's pawn shop and made the monthly payment. With the receipt in hand Claire felt sweet relief. _At least something is going right today_, she thought.

**~O~**

That evening at the hospital Mary Margaret read from the fairy tale book she had given to Henry. She sat by the bed of the handsome John Doe and in a tone like a bedtime story read of Snow White and Prince Charming meeting and then falling in love at the troll bridge. It was a usual story because their meeting was antagonistic, not the usual cute or heroic one typically found in other fairy tale books.

Mary Margaret found herself absorbed by this telling when she felt something. John Doe had put his hand on hers.

* * *

**Note: Penny Steveston is Periwinkle. Her last name is a reference to the town of Steveston, BC where the show Once Upon A Time is filmed.**

**Jo the exterminator is Fawn.**

**Thanks for reading my little story. **


	14. Chapter 14

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 6**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"Thanks for the shirt," Emma told him when she sat down in the booth. Ms. Swan had been living out of her VW bug and didn't have much in the way of a change of clothes. So Henry brought her a clean blouse to wear. It turned out that it belonged to Regina. As if Emma didn't have enough to worry about from the mayor. But at least something else was working out for her today.

Emma had a plan, and it was coming together nicely. Mary Margaret had gone to the hospital last night to read to John Doe. Henry was convinced that Mary Margaret was Snow White. John Doe was her Prince Charming. They were supposed to be soul mates, at least that was his theory. He believed that his book of fairy tales, titled Once Upon A Time, revealed that all the people of Storybrooke were actually fairy tale characters who had been brought here by a curse cast by the evil queen. They had no memories of their true selves and had been trapped in a prison of time for the past twenty eight years. It was a crazy notion and Emma was going to dispel it the nicest way she could.

Mary Margaret, Henry's school teacher, went to the hospital last night to read the story of Snow White and Prince Charming to the comatose John Doe. If Henry was right, he would remember his true self and wake up. If Emma was right, and she was betting she was, nothing would happen and the boy would finally have to accept that there were no fairy tale characters living in Storybrooke. Mary Margaret was going to meet her and Henry at Granny's for breakfast and give a full report. To Emma, this was a full proof plan. Except for one small thing.

"He woke up," Mary Margaret said upon entering Granny's Diner. "Well, not actually woke up, but he put his hand on mine."

Emma couldn't believe her ears. This wasn't how the plan was supposed to play out. How could he have woken up? She had to find out more, so the three left Granny's for the hospital immediately.

Upon arriving, they discovered that not only had John Doe woken from his coma, but he had gone missing. Emma was blindsided by the news. Henry's theory about fairy tales couldn't possibly be true. Before she could worry about it any further, Emma was stunned by another development. Mayor Mills and the sheriff were already at the hospital looking into the disappearance.

**~O~**

Regina was unhappy to see Henry in the company of Emma Swan. He had told her he was playing Whack-A-Mole at the arcade. He lied. And just how did Ms. Swan get one of her blouses? No doubt that was Henry's doing, as well.

"Well, Ms. Swan since I can't keep you away from my son, I'll just have to keep my son away from you," Regina said, pulling the boy to her side. She also made it abundantly clear that Henry would be punished for his lying.

"How is that you're here, Regina?" Emma asked. Regina informed Ms. Swan that she was John Doe's emergency contact number. She had found the man lying by the side of the road, unconscious, some time ago and brought him to the hospital where he had been in a coma ever since. He had no identification and not a single person knew who he was or could ID him.

That explanation didn't exactly sit well with Emma, but Regina didn't care. She was more worried about her own son lying to her and sneaking off to be with Ms. Swan. She ordered the sheriff to find John Doe while she took her son back home, where he belonged.

**~O~**

Determined to find out what happened to the missing patient Emma, Graham and Mary Margaret visited the security office to look at the tapes of the ward to find out how a comatose patient was able to just disappear. Neither Leroy, the perpetually grumpy custodian, nor Walter, the hospital's security officer, had seen anything.

"You fell asleep again, didn't you, Walter?" Leroy said accusingly.

"Hey, you're not throwing me under the bus," Walter replied.

Emma didn't have time for this and had the security tapes cued up. Everything appeared normal, but Emma spotted something wrong.

"It's the wrong tape," she said. This recording showed Ms. Blanchard's students putting up the banners and posters. That was yesterday, before the patient went missing. When the correct recording was found and cued up, it showed John Doe stumbling out the back door, barely conscious.

"Where does that lead?" Emma asked.

"The woods," Leroy answered.

The trio hurried outside to begin their search. John Doe had pulled out his I.V. and could have been bleeding. Time was against them.

**~O~**

Tina lazily descended the stairs and strolled into the kitchen. She was expecting her mother. Instead, Valerie was there cooking breakfast. Or at least trying to cook breakfast. On the kitchen table was a serving plate containing scrambled eggs so overcooked that water was pooling around them. There was bacon that was dark and overly crisp, slightly charred sausage patties and links and a short stack of toaster waffles that were several shades beyond golden brown.

"Where is Mom?" Tina asked her older sister.

"Asleep," Valerie replied in a testy voice. On a hot pad, she put down a saucepan of grits which was thick rather than creamy. "That's twice she's overslept."

"She had a panic attack yesterday, Val. And she almost ran someone over."

"Hmph! So why is that my problem," Valerie answered, sitting down to the unpleasant meal she had prepared.

"Why are you so mean to Mom?" Tina asked.

"She started it!" was Valerie's quick answer. "Ever since you were born, that woman has been fawning all over you and treating me like the bastard child of the house."

"That's not true, Val," Tina tried to assure her. "You've just been so mean to her."

"I'm just doing to her what she has been doing to me all along!" Valerie rebuked in a raised tone.

"Ssshhhh! Mom needs to rest."

"Who cares!?" Valerie said. "She has always resented me ever since you came along. When you had your seventh birthday what did you get?"

"A bicycle," Tina said. "It's what I asked for."

"Exactly, you got what you wanted," Val said. "But when my fifteenth birthday came along later that year do you know what I got?"

Tina shook her head no.

"All I wanted was Microsoft Flight Simulator," Val answered, tears swelling in her eyes, her voice beginning to crack and tremble. "Dad bought it for me. I tore open the box and was so excited. But Mom made him take it back. They argued for days over it. She said no daughter of hers was going to do something dangerous like learn to fly."

"Good grief, Val, your timing couldn't have been worse," Tina said. "It was the spring of 2002 and you wanted a flying simulator program."

"It wasn't dangerous! It was just software, but you got your bicycle which is dangerous," Valerie said nearly breaking down. "Dad knew it was my dream. That's why he bought me model planes to build and put up in my room. I loved putting them together. I could imagine myself sitting behind the stick and flying across the country in the open sky. He promised that on my eighteenth birthday he would pay for flying lessons."

"He died when you were sixteen," Tina observed. "He couldn't keep his promise."

"No, but Mom could have. When I turned eighteen, I asked her for those flying lessons," Val continued. "She flatly said no. I kept begging her to keep Dad's promise. So you know what she did? She went into my room and pulled down all of my airplane models, breaking each of them before throwing them into the trash."

Valerie started crying. "That's why I hate her so much, because she hates me," Valeria howled. "The only dream I ever had in life was to fly. Dad understood that and encouraged it. But Mom took it away from me. She took the only thing that mattered and threw it into the garbage."

Valerie jumped from the table.

"Where are you going?" Tina asked.

"To the work site," she answered.

"Huh? Why?"

"Do you want to lose the house? To live under a bridge? Someone has to put food on the table since Mom is apparently too incompetent to even do that anymore," She spat. "Do yourself a favor, Tina. Get out of this place as soon as you can. The only thing Mom seems to be good at anymore is ruining people's lives." Val then ran out the door to the garage and rode off on her bike_._

Tina sunk into her chair and picked at the food on her plate. _I'm beginning to understand you, Val._

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

When they neared the Troll Bridge, Snow White and Prince James abandoned their horse and sent it on its way because Trolls didn't like horses. Snow had sold the jewels to the trolls at this bridge for money. She was trying to gather enough to leave the kingdom for another realm, a place where she could be safe from the Evil Queen. Regina had already sent out a huntsman to carve out Snow's heart, but he couldn't do it. Regina didn't give up so easily and sent her entire force of Black Knights to find and kill Snow. That was why she stole from James. If she couldn't be rid of the queen she would escape her.

Prince James didn't know anything about trolls. He thought they were little people.

"Those are dwarves," Snow corrected. "Trolls are dangerous and they will cut off your hand as easily as look at you."

The bridge was a dilapidated stone works overpass. The two sides were masonry, but the middle over the deep chasm was little more than a few wooden planks joining the two anchors on either side. Snow and Prince James walked out towards the middle. She put out a few gold coins to get their attention. The bridge trolls ascended the structure and leapt over the railings. These creatures were fearsome looking, with oversized heads, powerful looking muscles, great strength and agility and long fangs that sprang up from their bottom jaw.

She asked to buy back the jewels sold to them earlier. However, they were agitated by the presence of her male companion. They didn't know who he was and thought it might be a trap. Despite all of their physical prowess, bridge trolls were often hunted. They were very wary. Snow tried to vouch for James. At first they were unwilling to take her word, but acquiesced and sold back the jewels. Unfortunately, James let his royal training slip with a "thank you" and other appreciative words.

"He's a royal!" one of them roared. They were afraid it was a trap. A fight ensued and James was able to incapacitate one, but was captured by the others. Snow White managed to escape and thought that James was right behind her. When she turned, she saw him forced to his knees, about to be executed.

"Royal Blood is the sweetest," one of the trolls said to James before raising his sword to kill him. Then the troll dissolved into a beetle. James struggled to break free, but the second and then the third troll were also both reduced to bugs. It was Snow's dark fairy dust.

"Thanks, but what about your special someone?" he asked Snow. She would have to find another way. When he asked why she did it, Snow replied, "I couldn't let Prince Charming die."

After the brief conflict the two parted ways. James took his wedding ring, given to him by his mother, and let Snow keep the rest of the jewels so she could escape. He joked as he had before that Snow wasn't the jewelry type.

"I don't know," she said, taking the ring and putting it on her finger. "You're right. It's not me." She gave him back the ring.

At that moment, the seeds of love between them were first sown, though neither of them realized it yet. Snow White left to find her safe passage and Prince James went back to the castle and his fiancée. However, little did they know that their paths would cross once again.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Restoration Period on the Mainland)

Vidia crossed back into Pixie Hollow and the safety of her homeland. A tidal wave of relief washed over her. She lay down on the ground as all the anxiety and fear seemed to melt of her. Within minutes she fell asleep.

When she woke Vidia noticed that the sun was sinking into a bright red western sky. She had slept for hours. The only thing she had eaten since beginning this journey was the squashed berry in her sack. Vidia had made the hard decision to go back and collect another blueberry that would satisfy the requirements of the quest. She didn't want to live with the stigma of having to grovel for something that others had earned outright.

She looked around trying to find Swift and Festus so she could present them with her prize. However, they were nowhere to be seen. She searched the area near the border with the wild lands and called out their names several times, but to no avail. They must have assumed she was killed and left. Vidia flew to The Nest to find them.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"Hi, Clarence? It's me, Tina. Listen, I'm going to be stuck here at the house," she told him over the phone. She explained what had happened yesterday.

"Yeah, I know," he answered. "It was in the morning edition on the front page."

"WHAT?" She ran out to the front door and collected the newspaper. Opening it she saw a photo of Desiree Collingsworth and a stock photo of an Apple iPad. The article didn't accuse or explicitly condemn Mrs. Kensington, but she was mentioned as being the employer of the suspected thief. This wasn't going to help the already flagging company. It hurt the trust she had with the townspeople, and in a place like Storybrooke trust was worth more than gold.

"Oh great. Mom already has enough to worry about," she whimpered over the phone.

"Don't worry, I'm certain Sheriff Graham will find the missing tablet and everything will be fine," Clarence said with an assuring tone.

"You really think so?"

"I know so. He's really good at watching out for us."

"Thanks, I feel better now. Oh, I forgot why I called. I won't be able to come over see your new car," Tina said regretfully. "Mom is sleeping in after all the stress she endured yesterday. Val just left and I have to take care of my mother."

"That's okay, I understand," he said. "Family comes first."

She smiled. "Thanks."

"Hey, I have an idea," Clarence said. "If you can't come to the car, I'll bring the car to you!"

"That sounds like a great idea. I'll be waiting."

"Okay, I'll be there after I'm doing delivering mail."

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Restoration Period on the Mainland)

The doors to The Happy Flyers Wind Riding Club burst open. The patrons turned to see Vidia standing in the doorway, a sling made of leaves over her shoulder. She walked into the pub and sought out Swift and Festus.

"There you are!" Swift bleated excitedly. "C'mon, let's go into the office and talk." Vidia was led into a backroom with a desk and several shelves with supplies.

"What happened?" Festus asked. "We thought you were eaten?"

"Or that you chickened out and ran off," Swift added.

"I'm no coward," Vidia spat. She explained what happened, how she moved quickly and silently through the wild lands, avoided predators and found herself in a real rat's nest of trouble as she approached the blueberry bush. Then how she waited to formulate a way out, that she accidentally smashed one of the berries and decided to go back to secure another.

"I think that qualifies me for a feather," she said confidently.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Swift told her. "You took too long."

"What! You never said there was a time limit!"

"Okay, okay," Festus said. "I think Vidia has a good claim on a feather since she had to go back."

"NO! No one has ever taken that long! She failed."

Vidia was furious. She had worked too hard and endured too much to beg or grovel for her feather. So instead, she decided to strangle Swift with her bare hands.

"Give me that feather, you jerk!" she yelled.

Festus stopped her, pushing the enraged fairy out the back door and onto the patio. "Wait here," he said. "Let me talk to him."

"You'd better or he'll have to change his name to Swiftamina by the time I'm done with him," Vidia growled.

"You're upset. I get that. But leading off with a threat is usually not the best way to get what you want," Festus said. "Why don't we put the fairy gender change in our back pocket as a last resort?"

Vidia smiled a bit, amused. "Okay. Go talk to him. But if he doesn't say yes he better get used to wearing a dress."

"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll come around," Festus reassured her before going back into the room.

"Yeah, well he'd better. Because I'm not doing that again."

* * *

**Sorry for the slow update. I've been studying for Final Exams and trying to watch the NBA Playoffs at the same time. Not easy. **

**Let me know what you think of some of the developments in this chapter. The next one should wrap up Episode 3. **

**For those who don't watch Once Upon A Time, you may want to start this fall. The Season 3 season finale aired Sunday and in the last few seconds they introduced who the next major character would be for Season 4. It's none other than Elsa, the Snow Queen from Frozen. You can see her introduction on Youtube. Just do a search for Elsa on Once Upon A Time. I don't know about you, but I'm stoked.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 3, Chapter 7**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Tina resented her big sister for abandoning her at home. Today was supposed to be her day to clean the bathrooms and vacuum around the house. Now Tina had to do all this work. When Claire came downstairs around noon, she had to explain that to her.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," her mother said. "But this time I have to agree with Val. Someone had to oversee the employees. For once she is being responsible."

"Hmph! Why does her being responsible mean I have to clean the house two weeks in a row?"

"Here, let me help," Claire said, taking over the vacuuming duties. "Why don't you run down to Granny's and get us lunch, okay?"

Tina gladly took the food run over the household chores. Despite how much she hated being left alone by her sister to watch over her mother and the house today, Tina brought a sandwich stuffed with lunch meat to Valerie at the renovation house. She was even thoughtful enough to bring chips and a Mr. Pibb, Val's favorite soda. Tina, however, ate the pickle spear on the way over. She knew that would needle her big sister. Valerie always loved the salty taste of the pickles. It was always her favorite part of a sandwich from Granny's.

**~O~**

"Hi, Mom, I'm home," she announced when walking in the kitchen door. Tina put the food down on the kitchen table and went looking for her mother. She found her sitting at the dining room table looking despaired and shell shocked.

"Oh no, now what happened?" Tina asked.

Lying on the dining room table was the front page of The Daily Mirror.

"I hope that Sheriff Graham finds that tablet soon," Claire said. "This is going to hurt business so much."

Tina sat down next to her and tried to perk up her spirits. "Mom, I'm sure everything will turn out just fine. You've gotten us through some tough spots in the past, you can get us through this one, too."

Claire gave her youngest a big hug. "Thank you. At least one person still has faith in me."

They both put aside their problems for the moment and ate their meals. Claire voiced a concern about Valerie. Tina said she took her sandwich.

"Oh how sweet of yo-. Wait did you eat the pickle?" Claire said.

Tina shook her head no, but the smile on her face said yes.

Claire rolled her eyes and said, "What am I going to do with you girls?"

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Restoration Period on the Mainland)

The door to the tavern office swung open. Festus exited and then closed the door behind him. Vidia had been kept waiting for a good while. The sun was very low in the horizon, its yellow light fading to a bright red glow.

"Well?" Vidia asked sharply. "Is Swift going to become his own favorite girl?"

"We talked," Festus began. "He didn't agree with me. I told him you worked too hard to be denied. He said there were rules and they had to be followed."

Vidia glared at him. "Is this description of the conversation going to take longer than the actual conversation?"

Festus leaned against the railing, slouching a bit next to the angry flyer. He bobbed his head back and forth, smooshed up his face, hemmed and hawed before finally answering her.

"Nnnngggggggyyaaa, you got your feather. I finally got him to admit he never told you the time limit rule. But you cannot discuss this with anyone. Not even with other talents, they might flap their big mouths to one of our own."

"Deal," Vidia answered quickly. Festus presented her with the coveted purple feather. Vidia took it, eyeing it with much satisfaction. She smiled a bit.

"How do you intend to wear it?" he asked her.

"I'm going to add it to my new clothes," she said. Vidia disliked the flowery dress she was wearing. It got in the way of fast flying. She had already asked the dressmakers to fashion a tight, formfitting dress without all the fluffy petals. "The feather should make a nice belt."

Festus smiled. "I like your style."

Both looked out across the sky and watched as the sun dipped behind the distant horizon. The sky turned a fiery red with hints of yellow and orange.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" he asked.

She nodded happily. "Umm hmm."

When the bright colors dimmed and the sky turned dark he offered her an invitation. "Come on, let me buy you a drink to celebrate. Maybe some dinner, too, you look hungry."

"Thanks. I am," she replied. In their guild's tavern, Vidia and Festus had a few drinks, ate a nice dinner and afterwards talked and laughed and had a wonderful time together.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma Swan, Mary Margaret and Sheriff Graham Humbert had spent hours searching through the wooded areas outside of town. The woods were both beautiful and treacherous. Tall pine trees covered in green moss grew everywhere, some of their trunks were huge, and detailing how long some these grand trees had been growing here. Logs and large boulders littered the ground. They were also covered in the moss turning them slippery and making a hike through these areas difficult and dangerous. A slight mist added to both the beauty and the challenge of navigating through the forest.

The group had been following a rather obvious trail, but when it went off the road Sheriff Graham had to resort to more old fashioned methods of tracking. Mary Margaret wondered why Emma didn't lead the search since she seemed so good at finding people. Emma had to admit that the people she tracked down usually wound up in places like Las Vegas, not the backwoods of small towns. Mary Margaret smiled at Emma's unusual description of her work.

"How did you wind up doing that?" Ms. Blanchard asked. "Looking for people, I mean."

Emma had spent most of her life looking for people.

"You were looking for your parents?" Mary Margaret clarified. "Sorry, Henry told me you were, well, that you came from the same background as he did."

Yes, Emma had indeed spent a good deal of time searching for her real parents. It just felt natural for her to pursue finding people as a career choice.

"Did you ever find them?" Mary Margaret asked.

"Depends on who you ask," Emma answered cryptically. Mary Margaret knew what she was talking about. Henry and his wild theory that she and John Doe were her parents. Mary Margaret felt sympathy for this lost girl. No parents, no family, no attachments, no history. No place to call home.

A noise in the shrubs behind them caught their attention. A second later, Henry emerged.

"Henry? What are you going here?" Emma asked, scared for his safety.

"I want to help," he answered.

"Where's your mother?"

"She dropped me off at the house and then drove off," he replied.

"Well we need to get you back home," Emma said, "or your mother will kill me. Then you. Then me again."

"But I can help you find John Doe," Henry insisted. He then looked at Ms. Blanchard. "He's looking for you."

Not this again, Emma thought. Yet Henry continued to press his case. He stated that John Doe was heading towards the troll bridge because that was where Prince Charming first fell in love with Snow White.

"Henry," Mary Margaret said in a kindly voice, "that's the last thing I read to him."

Then Sheriff Graham called to them. When the two women and the boy joined him, he pointed to a clue he had found. John Doe's hospital wrist ID. It had been removed and was lying on a branch. Worse yet, it was smeared in blood.

**~O~**

A knock at the back door brought Tina bounding through the house. Clarence had called to notify her he was off work and was coming over to show off the car. She was so excited. From the moment he told her about his new vehicle, Tina had been wondering, even fantasizing, about what it could be.

Was it a Ford Mustang? She would look so cool in the passenger seat of one of those iconic sports cars.

Or maybe it was one of those new Chevy Camaros like in the _Transformers_ movies. Tina hated those films, but loved the vehicles showcased in them.

Then her heart skipped a beat, perhaps he bought a Dodge Challenger. Those looked so sweet!

Chills went down her spine when the knock came.

She swung open the door and nearly jumped out of her skin. "HI!" she greeted excitedly.

"Hi," he answered. "Is your Mom here? I see the truck in the backyard."

"Nope, she went to an appointment with Dr. Hopper," she answered. Doctor Whale had called the therapist and asked that Archie Hopper see Claire as soon as possible to treat the causes of her anxiety. She had driven to his office in their old minivan.

"Oh, okay. I thought she might like to see it, too."

"She's not really a car person like I am," Tina admitted. Indeed, Claire wasn't. Tina, however, learned at the feet of her father how to do things like change oil, spark plugs, filters and many other user serviceable parts in an automobile. With her father now gone, she took on the role of auto mechanic when regular maintenance was required.

"Well, ready to see the new car?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Tina said, bouncing up and down on her toes.

"Alright, here she is." Clarence stepped aside so Tina could get a view of his new set of wheels. One look and she stopped bouncing. Her jaw fell slack, her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Tina was speechless.

"Well? What do you think?" he asked her, beaming with pride.

Tina curled up her nose, her eyebrows quirked and she could barely contain her disappointment. "You bought a Pontiac Aztek?!" she asked.

"Yeah, isn't it great?" he answered her.

"Its…, its….," Tina wanted to say it was a horror, a tragedy on four wheels, a boneheaded purchase of the most monumental proportions, but how could she say those things to the boy she had admired since her freshman year in high school?

The Pontiac Aztek was the single most god-awful looking vehicle ever inflicted on the American automobile consumer since the AMC Gremlin. Its sharp edges, gray wrap around body cladding, pig snout like nose and truncated back end was supposed to be cutting edge. The Aztek's intended buyer was a younger crowd looking for something different and edgy. The vehicle even had optional accessories designed to add to its sport utility functionality, such as a tent which extended the back end and turned the SUV into a modest camper.

Unfortunately, massive amounts of executive meddling, coupled with it being overweight, underpowered, with mediocre handling and average ride along with an exterior so frightening that even small woodland creatures would run from it in fear, led to it being attached to many lists with titles like "What were they thinking?" or "Worst mistakes of the year" and "Worst automobiles in history."

Sales were so poor and the press surrounding the vehicle was so bad that it earned another dubious distinction. The Aztek became known as the vehicle that killed the Pontiac brand.

"It's…, it's…, different," she said, trying not to offend. "Not my first choice, but it is very…, bold. Yeah, that's it. Bold."

"When Pontiac first announced the Aztec, I fell in love with it," he told her. "I've always wanted one."

"WHY? I mean…, I mean, why yes. Why wouldn't you want one?"

"Oh and hey look at this." Clarence opened up the rear door. It wasn't a single lift gate, like most other SUV's, but a hatchback with a pull down door. Inside was the tent which would fit over the lift gate. "See, we could go camping in the woods outside of town."

"We?"

"Yeah, I know how much you like a good adventure so I thought we could go camping together some weekend," he told her. "Then we could hike the woods, or do some bird watching. Maybe we could go fishing or take small boat out just the two of us?"

"You bought this… for me?"

"Of course," he answered.

"So does this mean that…, that?"

"That what?"

She hesitated for a moment, not wanting to ruin their strong friendship. "That you think of me as more than just a friend?"

Clarence took her hand in his, looked into her eyes and with a smile answered, "You're my best friend. And best friends do fun thing together."

"Oh." Tina was sick. She had misread him.

"But who knows, maybe we can be more than just friends," he added. "I just wasn't sure how you felt about it."

She smiled back. Her heart skipped a beat. Clarence bought a Pontiac Aztek just for her and she couldn't be happier. They sat on the drop gate and held hands while gazing into each others eyes.

**~O~**

Sheriff Graham led the small search team towards the old Toll Bridge. Someone had vandalized its sign, using a permanent marker to add an "R" between the "T" and the "O" turning Toll Bridge into Troll Bridge.

Mary Margaret and Emma swung their lights down into the shallow waters of the creek that ran under the bridge. "Look! Someone's down there," Mary Margaret yelled.

At the water's edge, half submerged was a man in a hospital gown. Sheriff Graham immediately called in an ambulance. Emma and Mary Margaret splashed through the creek to the unconscious man in the water. They turned him over. It was John Doe, but he was not breathing.

"Wake up!" Mary Margaret yelled, shaking him. "Come back to us. Come back to me." She began to administer CPR. Emma hid Henry's face from the horror, not wanting him to see a dead man, if John Doe was in fact deceased. However, a moment later, he resuscitated. The first thing he saw was Mary Margaret who kept saying, "I found you. I found you."

Emma could not believe it, but Henry was right about where to find the escaped patient. Mary Margaret, while not yet a believer in the boy's fantasy world, seemed quite smitten by the handsome John Doe. This only confounded Emma even further. Ms. Blanchard was not Snow White and John Doe was not Prince Charming. They were not soul mates. Henry, however, viewed these events as proof that his theory was correct.

**~O~**

Back at the hospital, Mary Margaret couldn't have been happier to see John Doe returned to the care of Dr. Whale and the nursing staff. Last night, when her date with Dr. While ended in disaster she was worried that she might never find true love. Now her eyes sparkled as though it were in reach with the now fully awake John Doe.

Unfortunately when Emma, Mary Margaret and Henry entered the ICU where the man was being kept, they saw a blonde female in the room with him.

"Who is that woman?" Emma asked.

"That is Kathryn Nolan," Regina informed them. "She is his wife." John Doe, it turned out, was David Nolan.

Mary Margaret was crushed by this news. Henry was wrong, he wasn't her soul mate. There was to be no true love with this man and she felt terribly foolish for getting her hopes up.

Kathryn exited the ICU to thank Mary Margaret, Emma and the sheriff for finding her lost husband. She explained that she and David had a falling out several years earlier. Kathryn took the blame for not being more supportive and understanding. They separated. Assuming that David had left town, Kathryn never thought to look for him in Storybrooke.

Dr. Whale added that while David was now fully awake and in good health, his memory was still blank. He had no memories of his life or family. There was no explanation as to why David suddenly woke up. Only that he did and in a state of delirium went looking for something.

"Or someone," Henry added, looking directly at Ms. Blanchard.

He insisted that David was looking for her. But seeing the man with his wife, she could no longer believe him. Yet, even as Kathryn and David embraced, he looked at Mary Margaret. There was a connection, Ms. Blanchard could feel it and so could David. It was written all over his face. But Mary Margaret had to deny it, he was a married man and she would never find true love. At least not with him.

Emma, on the other hand, was incredulous and thought it impossible that Mayor Mills could so quickly, almost magically, find David's wife. Especially when he had been in a coma all this time. How was it that in this small town no one made any kind of remarkable effort to track down his family?

"Storybrooke is bigger than it looks, Ms. Swan," Regina answered. "It's very easy to get lost here."

Regina credited Ms. Swan's idea of checking the security recordings for finding Mrs. Nolan. More recordings were viewed. Late at night it was discovered that John Doe would sometimes call out for someone named "Kathryn." It was rather easy to narrow down the possibilities from there. True love had won out, she told Emma. And she felt enlightened. This episode reminded Regina how lucky she was to have Henry in her life. "Because not having someone would be the greatest curse of all."

These words cut Emma deeply. They reminded her of just how lonely she was. And how much she had been isolating herself from the people around her. People who cared about her.

**~O~**

"I'm worried about Valerie," Claire told Dr. Archie Hopper. Mrs. Kensington was sitting on his couch. They were in his second floor office that overlooked the main street. The room looked more like a formal study or a library than an office, complete with wonderful wood paneling and a real fireplace. It was warm, homey and comforting. "She is becoming more and more defiant and rebellious with each day. She hates me and I can't understand why."

Dr. Hopper nodded. Then, in a soft, friendly and nonjudgmental voice said, "Maybe I should talk to her. Get her perspective on these matters."

"Do you think it will help?"

"It certainly won't hurt."

"Okay, I'll bring her with me next session, Dr. Hopper," Claire said.

"I think we're going to make some real progress," he said.

"Thank goodness I've got Tina," Claire added. "I feel like I've found someone I can rely on to be there for me when things get tough. I haven't had that in a long time."

**~O~**

Sitting on the drop gate of the Aztek, Tina and Clarence held hands and were French Kissing. They had shared kisses before, but those were innocent and friendly pecks on the cheek. Tonight they were no longer just friends, but taking their first, tentative steps into the world of a romantic pairing as boyfriend and girlfriend.

**~O~**

At her apartment, Mary Margaret sat on the wrought iron stairs that led to her upstairs room. She was fiddling with a ring on her finger. It was a beautiful ring with a gold band and green stone. All she could do was fixate on how badly things had gone for her today. She had never felt lonelier.

The doorbell rang. When she answered Mary Margaret was rather surprised to see Emma Swan standing in her doorway.

"I know it's kind of late," Emma apologized. "But I was wondering if that room was still available?"

Mary Margaret invited her in, her frown turned into a smile. She no longer felt quite so alone.

~O~

Regina had been distracted all day today. The events surrounded Mary Margaret waking up John Doe, a.k.a. Prince Charming, had alarmed her. The curse she had unleashed on the Enchanted Forest to bring everyone here so she could have her revenge was beginning to weaken. Someone was responsible, but Regina didn't know who that was just yet. Although she couldn't ignore the coincidence that time started right after Emma Swan arrived.

She put Henry to bed, chiding him for his poor judgement and disobedience. She went back downstairs to the kitchen for a drink to help her relax. Reading the newspaper for the first time today Regina became aware of the incident between Claire Kensington and Desiree Collingsworth. She found it quite amusing that Queen Clarion was having a little spat with one of her own.

Picking up the phone, Regina called Sydney Glass, the reporter credited with the story and her inside man at the paper. "Sydney? This incident between Kensington and Collingsworth, keep me informed with any changes, will you?"

"Of course," he replied.

"Excellent." Regina took a sip of her drink. She had to keep vigilant. Snow White ruined her life, but Queen Clarion had kept her from undoing the damage.

* * *

**Whew, boy that was a long episode. But it is now complete. Next chapter will begin Episode 4. **

**I hope you enjoyed this entry. Thank you for reading. Please leave a review.**

**Note: I'm thinking of moving this story to the crossover section after the next episode or two. Thoughts please.**

**BTW, there really is a Pontiac Aztek, it really is uglier than sin and if you do a Google or Yahoo! image search you'll see just how scary ugly it actually is.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 0  
A Pixie Hollow Flashback**

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Romano-British Period on the Mainland)

"Your Highness, the Queen is about to give birth," were the very words he had been dreading. Prince Devon was right to be worried. His most beloved wife Queen Clarus was with child, their first. A girl for which they had already selected a name, if she survived.

Nine months earlier the queen's private healing talent informed the royal couple that they were to have a child. It was the most joyous moment of their wedded lives. A few months later, that joy turned to sorrow and heartache. They learned that the pregnancy was not going well and there would be many complications. If the baby survived all nine months it still may not make it. Birth would also be difficult and both mother and daughter would be at great risk.

Prince Devon could not imagine losing either of his precious gifts, much less both. It would be too much for him to endure. Devon was the overseer for the Scouting Talents. He and Queen Clarus had shared a long and sometimes tumultuous romance before agreeing to marry. Both were headstrong, daring and used to having others follow their orders. Fairy Devon often conflicted with Queen Clarus over things like how to defend against the intrusions of human pirates. Clarus insisted on humane methods of defense, whereas Devon wanted to use force. Once this band of humans had found Never Land and heard of the treasure of the Never Fairies they spent every day looking for Pixie Hollow. It could not be found by humans without help from a fairy, but that didn't mean the home of the Never Fairies was safe.

"Pirates," he would often remind her, "are the scum of humanity and are not worthy of our kindness. The Frankish and Saxon pirates who sail our waters steal, plunder, destroy and murder with impunity. They have a taste for the woman they capture and sell others into slavery." Both feared what would happen if some of them ever found Pixie Hollow, yet Clarus fiercely upheld her belief that fairies did not bring harm to humans. Their raving arguments were legendary. So was their incendiary attraction.

Devon did not change his attitudes once he married the queen and was elevated from overseer to Prince of the realm. He simply chose to vent his concerns in the bedroom rather than the conference room. That was how their baby girl was conceived, during a round of passionate lovemaking which had followed a round of equally passionate arguing.

For hours the queen had been isolated in the birthing room where she endured the pains of labor, surrounded only by her healing private healing and nursing talents. He could hear the screams she made from every contraction. They weathered on him, like water beating against even the stoutest of rocks. Finally, he had to leave. No self-respecting prince of the realm could be seen in such an emotional state. If their subjects witnessed his weakness, it would lead to a lack of confidence within the kingdom. Unthinkable.

Prince Devon was not weak by any standard. He had faced down even the most frightening of dangers that threatened their peaceful world. He drove away The Hawk, outwitted Wasps and escaped bats more than once. Even the human pirates were no match for his courageous and resourceful scouts. Yet for all his fortitude, this challenge was different. He could not fight it, outwit it or outfly it. The stakes were also greater, his wife and unborn child. He was helpless to do anything.

Devon sought out solitude near an old palm tree that sat atop a cliff. He sat there, overlooking waters that would later become known as the English Channel. This was where he used to bring the queen for quite dinners. Afterwards they would lean up against the palm tree, cover themselves in a blanket and watch the sun go down. He would take the opportunity to cuddle with her, whisper into her ear or nibble her shoulder. He hoped that once again he could bring his beloved Clarus to this place for more quiet dinners and romantic evenings watching the sun dip behind the far horizon.

Today, though, he wept. He wept for his wife, he wept for his child. He wept for the family he was sure he would never get to see. Life was over for him and he contemplated leaping from this overlook and into the waters below. When a fairy's wings become soaked with water, they act like an anchor and drag down the poor fairy to his or her doom. At least it would be over quickly. The hospital staff knew where to find him with the news, whatever it was. So it was only for him to wait. Time could not pass fast enough.

That's when he showed up. "Hello, Devon," the man said.

Shocked by this presence, Devon drew his sword, a human sewing needle repurposed by the tinkers into a weapon.

"Now, now, is that anyway to greet a guest?" the man said. The needle vanished into purple vapor.

"Who are you?" Devon demanded, his voice strong and intimidating.

The man who stood before Devon was no fairy. He was a human, but of fairy size. His eyes were dark and sunken, his face mottled and glistened in the light. The clothes he wore resembled that of a reptile, perhaps an alligator or crocodile. He smiled, revealing ugly teeth.

"I'm here to help," he said. "You seem to have a problem. I fix problems."

"What is your name? How did you get here? What are you?" Devon growled.

"Ah, ah ,ah, it's not polite to treat your savior in this manner" the man said. "But if you must know, my name is R-R-Rumpelstiltskin. Better known as The Dark One."

"I've never heard of you," Devon replied.

"I'm not surprised," the Dark One answered with a gleeful laugh. "I come from a distant realm. One even you do not know. But that's beside the point. You are in a bind and tossing yourself off this cliff won't make it any better, now will it?"

Prince Devon was dumbstruck. He looked at this ugly looking human, then at the cliff, then back to Rumpelstiltskin. "How did you know?"

"It's my job to know, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin answered. "Now then, are we going to resolve your sticky situation, or do you intend for your child to die before she can even be born and your wife to suffer until she bleeds to death?"

Again Prince Devon demanded to know how he was aware of this news. Again Rumpelstiltskin gave the same cryptic answer, it was his job to know. Devon questioned him further.

"Tsk tsk tsk," The Dark One replied. "The birth is not going well, the queen and the princess will be dead soon. Unless you let me help."

The prince knew this to be true. It was the last update he had received before retreating to this special location. "What can you do?"

"I have magic that can ease the birth and save your family," Rumpelstiltskin answered. "But I warn you, all magic comes with a price!" He added a flourish with his hands and arms for emphasis. The smile on his face never receded.

To Prince Devon, head of the scouts, this did not feel right. For this creature to show up right now when he needed him most with the very solution he required was damning evidence that this person was not to be trusted. Yet if he could indeed save his two treasures… then perhaps it would be worth the risk.

"What's the price?"

Rumpel smiled even harder. "Why, merely an exchange. Your life for theirs."

Devon was horrified. He would be denied the very thing he wanted to keep. A life with his family. But if he did nothing they would die. On the other hand, if he took Rumpelstiltskin's offer, they would live.

"Agreed. Take me with you, just save their lives."

"Oh no, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin said. "I'm anything if not a man who believes in family. You can stay until I require your life at some future date."

"When will that be?" Devon asked, apprehensive that he may have just sold his soul to what the humans called The Devil.

"How would I know?" Rumpelstiltskin said with a laugh. "But don't worry, it won't be anytime soon. You'll be able to watch your precious little girl grow up into a lovely princess long before I am ever in need of you."

The Dark One shook his hand in the air. In a puff of purple smoke a long contract unfurled. "Now then, do we have a deal?"

It was clear this demonic creature needed an iron clad contract before proceeding. Devon could still back out by not signing it. The Prince was about to let the healing talents try to save his wife and child when a summoner arrived. When the prince looked around, The Dark One was nowhere to be seen.

"My Prince, the healing talents require your presence," the summoner begged. "The birth does not go well; Queen Clarus is dying, the infant will not survive. The queen wants you at her side so she can say goodbye."

"I'll be right behind you," Prince Devon said. The summoner disappeared into the tall trees.

"Going once!" Rumpelstiltskin had returned.

"Where did you go?" Devon asked.

"Hurry, hurry. I can'na bring them back from the dead. Going twice!"

"You promise to save their lives?!" he pleaded with the horrid looking man.

"I promise. Going thri-."

Prince Devon grabbed the quill from Rumpelstiltskin's fingers and signed the contract. "Done!"

"Done indeed," he answered. Rumpel let out an impish giggle. "Now go, your wife and child await."

Devon knew he had done something terribly wrong. He felt forced into it. But if Rumpelstiltskin kept his promise then all would be well in the hospital.

When the doors to the birthing room flung open, there on the table was his beautiful queen. In her hands, wrapped in swaddling clothes was this tiny newborn fairy. Their baby girl, a princess with golden colored stubs on her back for wings.

Clarus looked at her husband with an exhausted, but wondrous smile. "You came."

"I wouldn't miss this for the world," he answered her.

"It looked like we were going to lose both of them," the healing talent said. "Then, like magic, everything improved and your baby was born strong and healthy."

Tears spilled down the proud papa's cheeks as he nodded. Prince Devon took the bundle into his arms. Their little one had survived. Rumpelstiltskin had kept his promise. With all the good cheer that surrounded this moment, Devon wondered just how long he had left. How many years would he get with his baby girl? He had no answer and promised to make every moment count. One thing he would not do, was tell anyone about his contract with Rumpelstiltskin. That was a secret he would take to his grave. Let his family be happy, no need to cast a dark shadow over their lives.

Devon kissed Clarus on the temples. "How are you feeling, Momma?"

She smiled and almost laughed, but was too tired. "I'm just fine. How is the Daddy?"

"Overjoyed that both of you are still with me," he said.

"We made it, thanks to the healing talents. They took good care of us."

The healers bowed in appreciation, but even they had no idea what happened.

Devon knelt beside his wife and placed the delicate bundle of joy back into her arms. "Say hi to mommy," he said to the child.

Clarus smiled and tried to laugh again. The infant's eyes were still closed and it couldn't understand a word they were saying. But the queen couldn't resist. "Say hi to daddy."

Devon kissed his wife again, then Clarus added, "Welcome to the world our precious Clarion."

* * *

**This chapter is a stand alone flashback. It will begin to establish a series of events that will, in total, detail how Regina came to target Clarion and her Never Fairies with the curse. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review.**

**Note: I chose the name Clarus for Clarion's mother because the Latin clarus is the root word for clarion.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 1**

The events described take place before, during and after the fourth episode of the first season titled "The Price of Gold."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Even with the reassurances of her youngest, Claire still felt the uneasiness in her stomach every time her cell phone rang. The story on the front page of the Saturday edition of The Daily Mirror was doing its damage. Several clients with small jobs pending called to inform her that they were hiring someone else to do the scheduled work. Today alone, Mrs. Kensington had already lost two lawn mowing jobs, a kitchen faucet replacement and a shelf installation at the house of Albert Spencer, Storybrooke's District Attorney. He informed Claire that if her employees were indeed responsible for the theft he would look into pressing charges against her if she were not be able to make proper restitution.

"Damn lawyers," she muttered under her breath after hanging up the cell phone. "They always want to sue the little guy because they know we can't afford to defend ourselves."

Claire opened the today's newspaper and began looking through the classifieds section. It was the extra thick Sunday edition. If Mrs. Collingsworth's iPad wasn't found soon, her business would fail from lack of clientele and she would have to look for a regular job. That is, if anyone was willing to hire her.

The business Claire Kensington owned was a sole proprietorship. In essence, the company was not viewed as a separate legal entity from the owner. Any profits made were claimed as part of the owner's personal income tax. Further, the business owner was held personally responsible for all debts should the company fail and could not pay creditors in full. If Claire did not have the money to pay what Kensington Contractors owed, then her property could be seized and sold to compensate those who loaned her money or sold to her on credit.

Just the thought made her shudder. Claire sighed and wished she could have formed an LLC or PLLC. An LLC and PLLC were forms of Limited Liability Companies in which each investor's financial liability was limited to the amount that person invested into the business. No investor could be held personally responsible for the entirety of money owed by the LLC to creditors except under very special circumstances. Unfortunately, it was too late to do that now.

_Well, at least it will be fun to watch the bank and Mr. Gold fight it out for the house_, she mused. The smile on her face lasted only five seconds. That was how long it took for the phone to ring again. Another cancellation.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Victorian Period)

Rosetta the garden fairy and Sled the winter animal sparrow man were perched atop a tall pine tree in the Frost Forest area of the Winter Woods. It was late at night and the frost fairies who practiced their talent in these trees had since retired for the evening or were carousing at their guild's tavern on the others side of the forest.

The two lovers were gazing skyward at the full moon and shimmering stars. Sled wrapped his arm around Rosetta's waist and pulled her close. She was dressed in her winter coat and stockings. Rosetta was a proper garden fairy and, as always, wore a dress, never pants or leggings. She had kicked off her warm, cotton lined winter boots so she could rub her feet against his. Both were snugly wrapped inside a blanket.

"Oh, isn't the night sky beautiful, Sled?" she asked him.

"Umm hmm," he answered.

"The stars are really sparkling tonight, too," she breathed.

"Yes, but they don't sparkle nearly as brilliant as your eyes," he added.

She cooed, laying her head onto his chest. She heard the constant beating of Sled's heart. Rosetta felt comforted knowing that it beat only for her. Sled responded by kissing her gently on the top of her head. Ro hadn't felt as wonderful as she did in this moment. It was sheer bliss.

A few minutes passed and Ro turned to look up at the night sky again. "I wonder," she mumbled.

"What? What did you say, Ro," Sled asked her.

"Oh nothing. I was just wondering if Tinker Bell were looking up at this very same night sky," she said.

Tinker Bell had left Pixie Hollow to go on adventures with Peter Pan more than eight seasons ago. She and Terence had a terrible and very public falling out not long before she left. Everyone knew the disintegration of her relationship with the dust keeper was the impetus for her leaving with the magical human boy. If they had remained together, Terence would have been the anchor that would have kept Tink in Pixie Hollow.

"I wonder what she's been doing." Sled muttered innocently.

"Oh, the usual," Rosetta answered. "Fighting pirates, scaring the cannibals and having wars with the Indians."

Sled laughed. "You almost sound like an authority on Peter Pan."

"Heh, yeah. Old boyfriend."

"Heh, heh. Wait? Did you say 'old boyfriend?' Peter Pan is one of your many exes? Ro, he's a human boy!"

"Oh don't worry about it, Sugarpie," she said kissing him on the lips. "It's not like anything happened 'tween us. That's what I get for trying to make a boyfriend out of a twelve year old. He was too interested in pirates and having fun to really notice. I just hope poor Tinker Bell isn't setting herself up for a fall just like I did. She had that same look in her eyes every young girl gets when they first meet him."

"Even you?"

"Even me." Rosetta got an amused look on her face. "Are you jealous of that boy?"

"No! Not exactly. Well, maybe. A little."

"Don't be. It's all behind me now. You have nothing to worry about, Sled. It's just you and me from now on."

A smile stretched across his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled from it a small box. He gripped it tightly in his hand. His heart beat faster. She noticed.

"Shoog? Is something wrong?"

"Ro, I have a question for you."

The garden fairy began to look nervous. "What is it?"

"You love me? Right?"

"Wha? Of course I do. Now why would you ask such a silly question?"

"I love you, Ro. With all of my heart," he said.

"I know that, too," she said.

"Rosetta, our relationship has hit a…, we are at a point where we can't…, what I'm saying is…"

"What exactly are you saying, Sled?!" Rosetta asked, looking particularly unnerved.

He sat up and held out his hand, displaying the small box. With the other hand he opened it, revealing a sparkling engagement band. Then he said, "Rosetta, the fairy of my dreams, will you marry me?"

She exploded with squeals of joy and gleefulness. Rosetta held out her left hand so that Sled could put the ring on her finger. She wrapped him in her arms and kissed him eagerly.

Then the excited garden fairy launched into the air and started to fly loop the loops, cartwheels and then spun about like a top. Her pixie dust went flying everywhere. Descending back to the tree she landed right at his feet, standing toe to toe with him.

"So is that a 'Yes?'" he asked.

"Eh, I'll have to think about it." She started to grin from ear to ear. "Of course it's a yes, sweetie pie." Ro and Sled embraced each other mightily.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell the other girls about this," she said. Eventually, her words began to run together like the incoherent babblings of a child.

"Ro, Rosetta slow down, you're going to burst something. Stop." But she kept on babbling. Finally, he took her into his arms and kissed her long and hard.

When they parted lips she cooed, "Oh my-y! I'm going to like being married to you."

Sled laughed, then they kissed. And then some more, and more still. All in the pleasant glow of the full moon.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"It's Sunday and that sticky fingered woman still hasn't returned my iPad," Desiree was saying to her assistant. Her thick southern accent on full display. Dee, as she was sometimes called, flicked her hair, always aware of her status as an on air personality. She had to put on a show for her dedicated fans no matter where in Storybrooke she went. She loved every minute of it.

Her assistant, Portia, an attractive but serious looking blonde in her late twenties was acting as a chauffeur today. Portia had brought Desiree to the local ice cream parlor to scout it as a location for shooting. They had arrived in Ms. Collingsworth's new and very expensive Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG 4MATIC sedan. A vehicle with a starting price tag of $139,000 (US Dollars), though Desiree preferred to lease than buy.

Desiree knew next to nothing about cars, but she loved to talk about the S63's "specs." All she did was regurgitate the same information the salesman told her. It had a hand crafted V-8 engine that generated 577 horsepower and could attain 60 mph from a dead stop in 3.7 seconds. Of course, she had no idea what any of that meant, but it sounded impressive enough to her and to anyone who asked.

Desiree's producers were interested in highlighting local shops. They wanted a place with charm and character. A place that the residents of Storybrooke frequented. That was why she made the ice cream store her first stop. It was a popular gathering place for individuals, couples in love and families. Desiree should have been in a better mood. This place had all the desirable qualities she and her producers had been searching for, but all she could focus on was her missing tablet.

"I tell you, Portia, if I don't get my computer back by nightfall I'll eviscerate that woman on television tomorrow morning," Desiree said angrily.

"Perhaps you should consider withholding your opinion," Portia advised. "Mrs. Kensington may sue for defamation if you go too far. Then you would be seen as the villain and she would be viewed quite sympathetically."

Desiree stopped dead in her tracks. "Ooh, you're right. I better get my lawyers on this. You're a lifesaver, Portia." She reached into her pantsuit pocket and withdrew her iPhone to contact her attorney.

Before dialing a single number, Desiree started to admire her reflection in the glass. She turned her head to one side and the other, playfully flipping her red hair. Then she looked at her whole body in profile. She pushed up her bosom and made smoochie faces at herself. "Be straight with me, do you think I would attract more viewers if I got breast enhancement surgery?"

"Only if you are interested in attracting lonely single men who download porn all day," Portia answered. Desiree had asked that question of her at least once a week. Portia didn't have to stop and think about her answer anymore, she just spit it out like a well-rehearsed line.

"Oooh, I don't have that demographic, do I?" Desiree answered, excited at the prospect of increasing her ratings.

"The real question is, do you _want_ to attract that demographic?"

"Oh, Sugarpie, I don't care who's watching as long as they're watching."

Desiree needed to increase her numbers because other morning shows were taking away viewers. National cable shows like _Dr. Phil_, syndicated fair such as reruns of _I Love Lucy_ and ESPN 2's sports themed _Mike and Mike in the Morning_ were popular among likely viewers in Storybrooke in that time slot. The producers of _Storybrooke This Morning_ needed to pry those viewers from their favorite shows and convince them to switch to the local talk show.

Highlighting popular venues in town was one idea that won approval in production meetings. Desiree's idea for increasing the size of her bosom was entirely her own. She thought it might make for a popular running storyline. Portia was afraid it might backfire and lead to a decline in viewership over what she imagined would be dubbed "Boobgate." So far, Portia had been able to convince her employer not to go through with the procedure. However, with ratings hitting all-time lows, she might not be able to keep Desiree from undergoing that foolish surgery.

"I think I'll run this idea by my producers this afternoon," Desiree said. "I've always been unhappy with my figure. I want to look like a woman, not a boy."

"You look very much like a woman, Dee," Portia answered. "You made this year's list of most eligible bachelorettes in Storybrooke, remember?"

"I remember, and I wasn't even in the top ten," Desiree spat. "Do you know why that waitress Ruby Lucas took the number one spot in the poll? Boobies! I want to be number one in this town and if it takes boobs the size of Buick Roadmasters then that's what I'm going to do."

"Then you might want to schedule a back surgery to go with those giant melons," Portia added. "You're going to need it. And by the way, Ruby took the number one spot because she's a tramp. So if you want to be number one in the reader's poll of The Daily Mirror, you're going to have to sleep with half the men in this town."

"Do I look easy?"

"With those giant boobs you will?"

"Good, that's what I want. To _look_ easy without having to_ be_ easy. What helps me top that reader's poll will also help bring in more viewers. I'm going to get that surgery. Oooh, then I'll need a whole new wardrobe. I can do an entire week of me shopping to my heart's content. Now that, Sugarpie, is a win-win situation."

Portia sighed and rolled her eyes. "I have a bad feeling about this."

**~O~**

A second before Desiree and Portia were to enter the ice cream parlor a panel van with the words WINTER'S HEATING painted on the side drove up. It turned into the parking spot next to Desiree's car and pulled a little too close for her comfort.

"Hey," Desiree yelled. "Hey, you. Yeah, you jarhead. You nearly scratched my brand new Merc-."

When the door to the van opened out stepped the most breathtakingly handsome man Desiree had ever laid eyes on. He was tall, well built, with dark hair, a strong chin and piercing eyes. "Hi," he said with a deep, masculine voice.

"Oh my," Desiree gasped. She smiled and giggled at him. A woman who was paid to never be at a loss for words, couldn't think of a thing to say. The man walked passed Desiree. Her eyes stayed fixated on him the entire way. He stepped to the door before stopping. He turned around, a concerned look on his face.

"Can I help you?" he asked. She grinned uncontrollably, shaking her head in a way that made her red hair jostle playfully. It wasn't intentional, but the effect was the same.

He smiled back at her. "My name is Ned," he said, introducing himself.

"Ohmythat'sperfect!" she all but shouted out in one breath. "I mean. Nice to meet you. I'm Desiree."

"From _Storybrooke This Morning_, I've seen your show."

"Oh, it's gratifying to meet a fan," she cooed.

Ned took her hand in his, pulled it to his lips and gently kissed her fingers. "It's been a pleasure." Ned then turned and walked into the ice cream shop. Desiree fainted into Portia's arms, who struggled to keep her employer upright. Unfortunately, the tiny woman couldn't support the weight of the limp TV star and both ended up sprawled on the sidewalk.

"Are you putting on weight?" she asked the unconscious Desiree. "Yeah, I think you're putting on weight. Just my luck."

* * *

**I do hope you are enjoying this story so far. Thank you for reading and please leave a review. **

**Scorecard: **

**Portia = Viola**

**Ned = Sled**

**Desiree = Rosetta**


	18. Chapter 18

**Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 2**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Seconds later, Desiree was awake. In truth, it was all just an act, more or less. She really did swoon after the brief encounter with Ned, Dee just played it up for effect. Now she was sitting in the cool environs of the ice cream shop and was "recovering" nicely from her fainting spell.

"I heard what you said," Dee grumbled to Portia. "I'm not getting fat. You know how sensitive I am about my weight."

"You went limp, I couldn't hold you," Portia answered quietly.

"That's what happens when you're a ninety pound weakling," Desiree snapped under her breath. "Now go outside and break my car."

Portia was just about to get up when it occurred to her that Dee's request made absolutely no sense. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You heard me, break my car. I want to spend some time with that…, that gorgeous hunk of manhood over there," Desiree answered, speaking about Ned.

**~O~**

Ned was at the counter talking with the bouncy, giggly girl behind the counter. She was a blonde with hair so bleached it almost hurt Desiree's eyes. Her name tag read "Tess." The other person behind the counter, a raven haired woman with a snarky attitude, Mike (short for Michelle), was watching with amusement as Ned got nowhere with the jiggling giggler.

"OhmygoshOhmygoshOhmygosh," the skinny little blonde blathered. "Are you here to fix our air conditioner?"

"Yes, I am," Ned replied, smiling.

"EEEEEEEE! Did you hear that, Mikey?" she rambled to the dark haired woman. "He's here to the fix the air conditioner. Oh that's just so awesome, it hasn't worked right all week long."

"Yeah, yeah, I heard, Tess. Now stick it in neutral and let the guy do his job," the raven haired Mike said. She turned to Ned. "Come on, I'll show you to the air handler." She led him into the backroom.

"EEEEEEEEE! We're finally going to get our air conditioner working again."

**~O~**

"Do you think she's high?" Desiree asked her assistant, commenting on Tess, the giggly genki girl.

"Like she's been mainlining Red Bull and Crystal Meth all day long," Portia answered. "Now then, how do you propose I go about disabling your vehicle?"

"I don't know, pull out something important. Wires, spark plugs, little funny colored boxes."

"You mean fuses?"

"Whatever they are called, just start yanking!" Desiree snapped.

Portia shook her head in disgust and then face palmed. This was an even worse idea than breast enhancement surgery. Although not by much. Her employer did not own the car outright, she was just paying for the right to drive it around town for a couple of years.

"Well, what are you waiting for?"

"An asteroid to hit and put me out my misery."

"Don't backtalk to me, Missy, now get out there and disable my car."

Portia did as instructed, quietly slipping out of the shop and silently making her way to the expensive luxury vehicle. All the while she kept thinking to herself, _dumbest…idea…ever! _ She opened the driver's side door of the Mercedes-Benz and looked underneath the steering column. Within the foot well for the driver she found a few small wires tucked away. She saw one of them was connected with a white plastic plug held together with molded clip. Portia reached underneath and separated the connection, leaving the plug just together enough to look like it wasn't undone.

She got up, dusted herself off and closed the door. Walking back inside, Portia noticed that Ned was walking out of the backroom. He was carrying a large box like object in his hand. It looked filthy, covered with layers of dust compressed against its middle.

"You just need a clean air filter," he told the dark haired girl. "I'll get one from the van and install it right away."

"You see! I told you we needed a filter," the genki girl jabbered. "But you don't ever listen to me. NeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNeverNev…"

"Okay, okay, I get the point," the dark haired girl answered. "Suddenly you're an expert on air conditioning units."

"Mean!"

"Yup, get used to it."

Portia sat down next to her employer. "I see their having a spat."

"Oh hush," she said, waiting for her hunk to walk back into the store. When Ned returned he came in with another of the same box like objects. Only this one was clean and the filter part was more obvious. He disappeared into the backroom again. "Okay, let's go," Dee whispered to her assistant.

"What? Go where?"

"To the car, where else." Desiree stood, acted a bit lightheaded to keep up the appearance of her fainting and then said, "Oh my, I think I'll be going home now. Drive me there, will you?"

Desiree then slowly walked out of the shop. She and Portia got into the Mercedes. Portia started up the car, but was yelled at by her employer.

"NO! Don't turn on the engine!" Desiree instructed.

"Huh?"

"Turn off the car, turn off the car!" she screeched.

Portia did as instructed, turning the key and killing the engine. "Okay, now what?"

"We wait for that gorgeous hunk of man meat to leave the shop."

"Have I ever thanked you for including me in your hunt for the perfect man?"

"No, but your welcome," Desiree cooed.

"Yeah, I wasn't actually thanking you," Portia said. "I just wanted to make sure I never had before."

**~O~**

Inside the shop, Ned was thanking Tess and Mike for being such loyal customers. He prepared an invoice for services rendered, but then stopped and asked if he could put some tri-fold flyers in their store. They agreed and Ned changed the total due to zero. "Well just call it even. When you're done with these I'll bring you more." He left handful of the flyers in their possession and walked out the door, waving goodbye.

**~O~**

"Quick, where did you break my expensive Mercedes?" Desiree asked.

"I loosened a plug under the steering wheel," Portia replied.

"Good, I'll try and maneuver him there. Here he comes!" Dee shouted. "Get out of the car," she added, banging on the driver's seatback. Portia tried to get out, but some idiot in the backseat kept kicking her chair. Finally, Desiree jumped out of the car and wailed, "Oh, whoa is me. Something is wrong with my car."

"Here, let me help," Ned answered. "I'll call a tow truck."

"NO! I mean, I'm sure you're more than qualified to fix whatever the problem is," she cooed, trying to sound as helpless as possible.

"Well, I'm not very handy with these foreign cars," he told her.

"Oh, a big, strong man like you. I'm sure you can fix anything."

Portia wanted to gag. That was the worst, most clichéd acting she had ever heard. Second graders putting on a school play were better than this. If this kept up much longer, she was going to quit and look for something that was more rewarding, like a porn star.

_Oh great, then I'll be the one all those lonely guys will be staring at_, she grumbled. _ If these are my only two options, then my life stinks._

"Pop the hood and I'll take a look," Ned instructed the redheaded tv star.

"Why, we have no idea how to do that," Desiree said with a sultry voice.

"It's right here," Portia said, pointing under the dash.

"WE DON'T KNOW WHERE IT IS!" Desiree screamed at Portia. Then the redhead giggled and asked Portia to exit the vehicle so that nice man could look for the hood release.

"I can openYAAA!" Desiree yanked her assistant out of the vehicle. Portia rotated her arm several times and rubbed her shoulder to ease the pain of being unceremoniously jerked from the car.

"Thanks," he said to Dee. He turned to Portia with concern for the slim girl's health. "Are you okay?"

"Oh she's fine," Desiree said pouring on the southern charm. "Now about my car."

"Yeah, sure." Ned ducked into the driver's side door and looked around underneath the dash. He found the hood release handle and reached for it. He saw the loose plug and pushed it back together, making a good connection and tucking the wire back into it's compartment under the dash. He was about to slide back out when he noticed something under the seat.

Desiree watched with doe eyed fervor as the tall man stood up. "Look what I found," he said holding up something silver.

"My iPad!" Desiree squealed. "Oh where did you find it?"

"Under your seat," Ned told her.

"Oh, you are my hero," she gasped. "I've been looking for this all weekend long."

"I know, I read the article in the paper yesterday."

"Oh, that reminds me, I should call that nice Mr. Glass and inform him that my iPad is no longer missing. I'm sure he'll want to write a front page article about how my knight in shining armor saved my career." Desiree punctuated her statement by making goo-goo eyes at Ned. She handed off her phone to Portia and instructed her to make the call. Desiree then wrapped her arm around Ned's and asked him if he would like some ice cream. A reward for being such a charming and handsome hero.

**~O~**

"Mayor Mills," the voice of Sydney Glass came though the receiver with a bit of worry.

"Yes, Sydney, what is it?" Regina replied.

"I have bad news," he informed her. "Collingsworth found her iPad. It was under the seat of her car."

"Well, now that is bad news."

"Desiree wants me write an article detailing how she found the tablet," he said.

"Go ahead and write the article, Sydney. But keep it short and sweet. Then bury it. Put somewhere in the newspaper where no one will see it."

"Yes, Mayor Mills."

"Word has it that the Mrs. Kensington is losing customers left and right," Regina explained. "I wouldn't want to get in the way of her collapse."

"Of course, Regina," Sydney replied. "I'll bury that story. But what about Desiree? She has that television show. She'll mention it on air and the whole city will know."

"Leave that to me, Sydney," Regina told him. "I'll have her producers come up with some legal mumbo jumbo about why she can't say a word about it on television."

"You never fail to surprise me, Regina."

"No, Sydney, I never do."

Things were falling into place nicely for Regina. The iPad incident was a golden opportunity for her. Soon Clarion would be out of a job, out of her home and living on the streets. A fitting fall from grace for that fairy queen that kept Regina from reclaiming her life. With Clarion out of the way, she could now devote all her time to more pressing matters. First she had to permanently drive a wedge between her son Henry and Emma Swan, then Regina had to keep Mary Margaret Blanchard and David Nolan apart. As with Claire Kensington, Regina would look for her opportunity and then exploit it for all it was worth.

* * *

**Note: The giggly "genki" girl (Tess) is Gliss, her dark haired friend (Mike, short for Michelle) is Spike.** **They run the ice cream parlor.  
**

**Thanks to I Luv Milarion 1201 for suggesting the Storybrooke names for Spike and Gliss.**

**I hope everyone likes this chapter. Please leave a review. Thanks.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 3**

* * *

Early Monday morning, Mrs. Kensington received a visitor. Sheriff Graham was at her door. He was dressed, as always, in a shirt with matching vest and tie. As the weather was turning cold he added a jacket over his nice clothes.

She was still dressed in her robe.

"Oh, sheriff, I'm sorry I must look affright in my morning clothes," she said.

"You look fine, Mrs. Kensington," he said with a smile. "I have some good news for you."

"Well, I could certainly use some," she said.

"Ms. Collingsworth found her iPad," Graham told her.

Claire's mood instantly lightened up. "She did? Where?"

"It was under her car seat," Graham informed her. "She must have hid it there the last time she left the studio. Probably stopped somewhere before going home and didn't want it to be stolen."

Claire laughed at the surreal nature of it all. "Well now isn't that something? How ironic."

Graham smiled again. He had a good heart and preferred to bring good news to people rather than the bad. Moments like this made his work as sheriff rewarding and affirming. "I just thought you would like to know."

"Oh yes," Claire answered happily. Claire told him that she had been losing business all weekend long since the story appeared in the newspaper. He told her a new story will be in today's edition and would set everything straight.

"Keep an eye out for it. By the way, how is Valerie? Still causing trouble for you?"

"Oh no, ever since she read the newspaper article she has been minding herself. Mostly."

"That's good. I'm glad to hear," he answered. "You have so much on your plate and you deserve a break. Good day, Mrs. Kensington."

Graham turned and went back to his police cruiser. Claire closed the door and when she was certain that the sheriff was out of earshot let out a joyous yell. "YEEAAAAOOOWWWW!" Her two girls came running downstairs. She explained to them that the TV lady found her iPad, Claire wouldn't be held responsible and a news article would detail the mix-up. Hopefully, clients would start to come back and soon.

**~O~**

Regina sat in the mayor's office reading the tiny newspaper article. Sydney had brought her an early copy so she could see her handiwork. The article read:

_Tablet mystery solved.  
by Sydney Glass_

_Desiree Collingsworth's missing iPad was found under her car seat yesterday. She had left it there while going out for lunch when she last left the set of her television show. The tablet was reported missing last week. The early morning talk show host was quoted as saying, "Silly me."_

No mention was made of Ned who found it or Claire's business. The article was meant to be clean of any such references. The intention was a) no one would see it since it was mixed in with the classifieds and b) if anyone did stumble across the article they probably wouldn't make an immediate association with Kensington Contractors or the front page article that ran Saturday. Claire's reputation would still be held in low regard by the townspeople. Her business would continue to suffer until she would be forced to shut down.

"Well done, Sydney, I have a use for you after all," Regina said. She disliked useless things and whenever Sydney could not deliver what she wanted, Regina would declare him "useless" and threatened to get him fired. Though Regina didn't have the direct authority to do it, she had the political clout to force his dismissal were she so inclined.

"Glad you approve," he said, a satisfied smile on his face.

"Don't get too smug yet," she said. "You still haven't made up for bungling the Emma Swan history that I asked for when she first arrived. Speaking of which, I need you to look deeper into her past. Find out where she's lived, what jobs she's had and how long. I want income tax returns, credit card and bank statements. Anything that will give me leverage against her."

"You mean anything you can use as leverage to pry her and Henry apart," he summarized.

"Don't try to think, Sydney, that's my job," Regina hissed. "Now go and do what you are told."

"Right away, Madam Mayor." Sydney Glass nodded his head to her and then left the office to do her bidding. Keeping Henry away from Emma was paramount right now for Regina. The Swan woman was becoming more and more a thorn in her side. Her recent success at reviving David Nolan only enraged Regina. Not only did Emma undo a major component of her dark curse, but it gave Mary Margaret hope for the future. Something Regina dearly did not want her to have. Now she was going to have to take matters into her own hands. All that was needed was the right moment.

**~O~**

Emma had spent the better part of Sunday consoling Mary Margaret Blanchard. The school teacher was so heartbroken when Regina informed her that the handsome John Doe was happily married. Emma could not understand why someone as level headed as Mary Margaret could get so caught up in Henry's imaginations. No one in Storybrooke was a fairy tale character. Fairy tales were by definition, fictional, and therefore none could be alive and well in a town on the coast of Maine.

For her part, Mary Margaret was responding well to Emma's presence as a house mate. Ms. Blanchard had lived her adult life alone, with no other roommates or companionship in her life. The woman really seemed to come more alive with Emma around. Emma liked that she could be at ease around Mary Margaret. There was little false about this woman. She had lived the life of falsehoods and learned it was fraught with dangerous liabilities and turncoats at every corner. It was the reason why she found it so hard to trust anyone. Yet for some reason, Emma believed she could trust Mary Margaret. It was an odd sensation and the bail bonds woman couldn't nail down why she felt this way.

**~O~**

At the office of Winter's Heating, Ned was talking with Hartley about the woman he had met yesterday at the ice cream parlor. He found her beautiful, though a bit of a flake.

"She was hitting on me, no doubt about it," Ned told his business partner.

"Who is this mystery woman?"

"Desiree Collingsworth," Ned answered.

"The host of _Storybrooke This Morning_?"

Ned nodded his head yes. Hartley told him to be careful with media stars. They could be incredibly vain and selfish, insulated from their own consequences by the people that surround them. Ned understood this, but still thought the relationship might be worth pursuing. "Who knows, this could be real love."

"I know that feeling," Hartley said. His wistful look clued in Ned immediately.

"Mrs. Kensington?"

Now it was Hartley's turn to nod. "I can't stop thinking about her. There is just something about that woman that just won't let me be."

Ned confided in Hartley that he had always had strong feelings toward Desiree from the first moment he had seen her on television. Of course, since Desiree was a celebrity and Ned was just a small business guy he never thought he had a chance with such a lovely lady. "That she actually finds me attractive, well it's sort of like the planets have aligned."

"Then go after her," Hartley advised. "Show her how much you love and care for her."

"How do I do that?"

Hartley told him that in his experiences women wanted two things. First a woman wanted to know a man was reliable and trustworthy. "That's their practical side." But a woman also wanted to live a romantic fantasy. "Treat her like a princess, make her the center of your universe and she will love you even more. And once she is yours, do not ever take her for granted. You can never destroy her fantasy."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Ned observed.

"Yes, but it can be very rewarding," Hartley told him.

"If you could date Mrs. Kensington, would you do that? Help her live a romantic fantasy?"

"My boy, that was how Charlie landed her and kept Claire happy for their entire marriage."

"Alright, if it worked for him, it might work for me," Ned concluded.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Victorian Period on the Mainland)

"What should we do today, Ro?" Sled asked his fiancée. "I thought you might like an owl ride across the forests and watch the Northern Lights from atop Never Peak Mountain."

"Hmm…, no. I don't think so," she dismissed casually.

Sled was somewhat perplexed by this. Rosetta had expressed interest in watching the Northern Lights in the past and he gone to the trouble of setting up a romantic dinner just for the two of so they could share a little one on one time together in a wonderful setting.

"Those are some beautiful lights, Rosetta," he told her, trying to get her to agree. "They'll be particularly easy to see tonight. A clear sky, a waning moon and perch atop the highest point on the island."

"Not interested," she answered back glibly. "I think we should go into the Summer Gardens and meet with the other garden fairies. Ooh, we want to design some new floral arrangements for the queen. Would you be our stand in, Sled?"

"That would require an awful lot of ice to keep me cool over there, Ro," he answered. "And I would have to dress up like the queen."

"Hmmph, I get the feeling you don't want to spend time with me anymore," she said with a huff.

"What? Of course I want to spend time with you, Ro," he replied, sounding a bit confused and off balance.

"Oh good, then we'll expect you tomorrow morning after breakfast," she said.

"What's gotten into you, Rosetta?" he asked her, frustrated. "Ever since you accepted my proposal you've been acting more and more, I don't know, crazy."

"WHAT?! I am not crazy. You take that back this instant, sir!" she demanded.

Sled explained why he had made these plans for them atop Never Peak Mountain. He was sure she would find his gesture romantic and endearing. Instead, she dressed him down, saying she didn't want someone to control her time or make decisions for her.

Sled was confused, irritated, exasperated and downright angry. Rosetta was a different fairy since she accepted his proposal of marriage. She refused to do anything he suggested. Ro insisted that they only do what she wanted.

"If you want to watch some goofy lights in the night sky you can go and watch them yourself!" Rosetta screamed.

"Well I wouldn't want to keep you in chains," Sled spat.

"Fine," she yanked off the ring and threw it into his face. "If you aren't willing to put aside your selfish needs for little old me, then the wedding is off!" With that, Rosetta turned on her heels and stormed away.

**~O~**

"I don't know, Lord Milori," Sled told him, exasperated. "Something is definitely wrong."

The Lord of Winter only chuckled.

"What?"

"She is testing you," he said.

Sled cocked a confused eyebrow.

"Rosetta wants to know that you will put aside everything just for her," Milori advised him.

"That's stupid!" Sled remarked. "Why would she need to test me? I love her, isn't that enough?"

"Not for a woman, they need to know the depth and breadth of that love."

"Did Queen Clarion do that to you?"

"Oh yes, my boy. She did indeed," Milori admitted. "It was a difficult time in our relationship, but we both persevered and our love has never been stronger."

Sled growled and grumbled and shook his head. Then he ran his hands through his hair, mussing it up as he grumbled some more. "I don't know. It sounds like she's playing head games with me."

"That, dear boy, is the very foundation of marriage," Milori said. "At least from a woman's point of view. They always have to test us, play games and ensure we aren't going to leave them."

"It sounds like they are insecure about their relationships," Sled concluded.

"Sometimes they can be," Milori said. "The more insecure, the more they play games with us. Just do as she says, never contradict her and you'll be just fine."

"I feel like I have to lose my snowballs just to make her happy" Sled added.

"Yes, you do."

"Well what about us? When do we get to be happy?"

"When I found out, I'll let you know," Milori said with a sly grin.

"You're pulling my wings, aren't you?" Sled answered. "This whole time you've been handing me a one big steaming pile of Owl poop, haven't you?"

Milori chuckled again. "Indeed, I have. The best advice I can give you is to go talk to her. The strongest relationships are founded on two people who can talk openly with each other. Do that and both of you will be happy together."

"All right, I'll give it a try, but she didn't seem too keen on talking the last time I saw her," Sled told The Lord of Winter before winging off to the summer gardens.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"It's not here," Claire said, flipping through the pages of The Daily Mirror. "It's not here, Sheriff Graham told me this morning there would be an article confirming everything I told you about the Collingsworth iPad."

"Sure, he did," Granny told her with a suspicious tone. "Look, I've got other customers to take care of, so either order breakfast or leave."

_Thief_. She didn't say it outright, but Claire could practically hear that word in Granny's voice. She could feel that same sentiment from every pair of eyes that set upon her inside the diner. She looked around, but each person quickly went back to their meals, keeping their eyes turned away from her.

"It's the truth!" Claire begged. "It wasn't my fault! No one in my employment took anything from anyone."

"If that were true, why didn't we hear Desiree say something about it on her TV show this morning?" Leroy said, voicing the one question everyone wanted to ask.

"I don't know, she should have said something," Claire responded. Her voice was cracking and her body trembled. "Talk to Sheriff Graham yourself. He'll tell you."

"We don't need to talk to him," Leroy pronounced. "I know a liar when I see one." The short, stout man who worked as a janitor at the hospital threw down his money on the counter to pay for his meal. He got up from his chair, but stopped and said to Claire, "Don't start thinking you can take that. It doesn't belong to you."

"Leroy, I'm not a thief," Claire replied. She clutched the crumpled newspaper to her chest, trying to create a shield, a barrier of any kind between her and the people she knew were judging her.

"I dislike turning away paying customers," Granny said. "But I don't take kindly to people who steal. Please take your business elsewhere."

She was stunned, Claire's eyes were wide as saucers. This place held many fond memories for her. Charlie brought her here for their first date. Then he brought her back on their first wedding anniversary. Both Valerie and Tina had their fifth birthday parties here and Granny gave both of them cake with a candle. This was where they celebrated Valerie getting a learner's permit. It was also where she and the girls came after Charlie's funeral. Widow Lucas, Granny, was the first to console them as they walked in the door.

This little diner played a large role in the lives of her family members. Now she was banished from it forever. With no story in the newspaper Claire could never prove her innocence. All that stress and self-doubt was coming back again. She worried about her children. _Where would we live? Would I be able to find work? Who would hire me? How will we eat? What am I going to do?_

Claire slowly climbed back into her work truck, feeling completely dejected. Instead of being a spectator in her own life, she decided to take action. From her cell phone Claire called the Sheriff's Office to speak with Graham, but he wasn't available. All she could do was leave a message.

"I hope he calls me back."

A moment later her cell phone rang. She thought it was Graham, but the Caller ID read "Winter, Hartley."

"Oh please not now," she grumbled. Unwilling to take the call, she let it go to voicemail.

Rather than sit and wait, Claire drove to the renovation house. There was a surprise awaiting her there, too. No one was doing any work.

"What's going on?" she asked Valerie, who had driven to the work site on her motorcycle.

The homeowner stepped forward and informed Claire that until the matter with the iPad was resolved to his satisfaction all work was to stop on the house. She tried to convince him that the tablet was found, but like before, when the homeowner called the sheriff there was no answer.

"I'm sorry, Claire, but I can't have you working on this house until I know for certain what happened," he told her. With no work for them to do, Claire had to release the workers for the day, but now they were asking for a full day's pay. They would have to try and find other work and most of the better jobs were already taken by day laborers, they argued.

Claire was about to agree when Valerie stepped up. "You didn't do anything but drive here," the young woman said angrily.

"We can't find more work today, girly," one of them said with condescension dripping from his voice.

_Oh no you didn't!_ Valerie barked and roared, "If you can't find work it's because you're not trying hard enough! Now get the hell out of here! No work, no pay!" She was letting out all of her pent up anger that was usually reserved for her mother and directing it at them.

The workmen paid her little heed and instead pressed Claire even harder. This time she didn't budge, "No work, no pay. That was our agreement from the beginning." Her voice was meek, but she repeated herself and the workmen backed down. When they left, Claire grabbed Valerie in a giant bear hug. "Oh, Sweetie, you were great!"

Valerie just wriggled free. "Don't touch me!" she yelled. "I'm still mad that you made an appointment with that shrink for me because you think I'm crazy."

"No, Valerie, he's going to help us work things out," Claire told her. In a familiar replay of previous events, Val jumped onto her bike and brought it roaring to life.

"Where are you going?" Claire asked her.

"I'm going to see Kyle," she answered. Then Valerie rocketed down the street on her Harley Davidson motorcycle.

"I forbid you to see that boy," Claire yelled. It didn't matter, Valerie was too far away and too headstrong to listen.

* * *

**Another milestone, two thousand views. Thanks to each and every one of you that has clicked on this story and enjoyed it. **

**I hope you enjoy this new chapter, please leave a review. Thank you for reading.**


	20. Chapter 20

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 4**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

_Now who in their right mind would sell a used Harley-Davidson motorcycle for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars?_ Hartley Winter asked himself. _Must be a printing error._ Hartley took a sip of his coffee when his eye caught the ad below the one for the motorcycle. What he read wasn't an ad, but a short article about the Collingsworth woman finding her iPad.

"Well now how about that," he mumbled.

"How about what?" a lovely oriental lady with long black hair and a sweet, almost shy voice asked. She was the manager of the seafood restaurant where Hartley was having lunch. Her name badge read "Misty."

He showed her the article. "Can you believe this was printed in the classifieds?" he asked. Misty scanned through the quick article.

"Well at least someone got back their iPad," she said. "Now if they would just hang that awful Kensington woman for stealing the other one I would be happy as a clam."

"This is it," Hartley told her. "This was the iPad that was supposedly stolen by Claire Kensington. It wasn't stolen at all, but misplaced."

"Really?" she asked, leaning in to read the story again. "Well I'll be a shucked oyster that _is_ the same one."

Hartley had a thought. With permission he quietly went around the restaurant and showed everyone the article. Most didn't make the connection. Only one or two remembered that Claire was involved and was now vindicated. Not one of them had seen the article because it was in the wrong section. He understood immediately that this mix up would mean that Claire would still be viewed as a thief in the city. Hartley dialed his cell phone.

She never answered. Instead he just left a simple message. "Hello, Claire? This is Hartley Winter, would you please call me back. It's rather important. Thank you." He left his number with the message and hung up.

Hartley folded up the paper and began his meal which the lovely young oriental woman, Misty, brought out to him. While eating, Hartley gave some thought to his impromptu survey. Simply telling Claire wouldn't be enough. Her name had to be cleared. Hartley decided he would be her knight in shining armor…, again. He called up Penny and asked her to look up the original article from the Saturday edition from the newspaper's internet archives. Then he asked to find the tiny article from today's paper. Finally, he asked her to find an appropriate photo of Mrs. Kensington. One that made her look motherly and caring.

"Okay, now here is what we are going to do," he instructed.

**~O~**

Valerie arrived at the house of Kyle Lindwurm, a young man of twenty five. He was tall at six foot four, with bright blonde hair and shocking blue eyes. He was also very wealthy and the one who bought her the motorcycle as a gift for her last birthday. Kyle was a day trader and had amassed a small fortune from his work. It was difficult and stressful, but Kyle was not one to back down from a challenge. He horded his money and spent very little of it. His home was not expensive and the interior was sparsely decorated. Valerie had come across this young man in high school when it was discovered that they shared a similar interests: flying and speed.

When it came to earning his money, Kyle didn't tolerate interruptions. Valerie was one of the rare exceptions to that rule. She was infatuated by him and him by her. When the door opened to his modest home Kyle was surprised to see Valerie. He grabbed her in his arms and picked her up. She wrapped her legs and arms around him and they kissed deeply.

"You came, I thought you gave up on us," he said putting her down.

"My mother forbid me from seeing you," Valerie answered. "But I'm sick of her rules. I want to get out of that house."

"Where would you go?"

"I've been planning something," she told him. Valerie had been eyeing many places where she could escape from what she considered her overly demanding and hateful mother. In her room, hidden away from Claire's prying eyes, was a shoe box filled with maps, brochures and printouts of several cities detailing cost of living, rent, job opportunities and more. She had narrowed it down to places such as Cleveland, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; San Antonio, Texas; Phoenix, Arizona; Jacksonville, Florida; Portland, Oregon and a few places in Canada like Toronto and Vancouver.

"Why so far away?" he asked her.

"So my evil witch of a mother can never find me," she answered. "Kyle, I want you to come with me."

Kyle took a step back from her. This was a truly shocking development. Moving meant giving up his day trading activities while on the road. It was also an expensive endeavor. "I don't know, Val. I can't give up my work so easily."

Valerie was dismayed. "Which do you love more? Me, or your money?"

Kyle didn't give her an answer right away. If he had to think about it, Valerie knew deep in his heart what the answer was. "Fine, keep your blasted money."

"Wait, Val, move in with me. Live here."

"No thank you," she said. "You made your choice, Kyle. I move in here with you and I'll be in the exact same situation I am with my mother. She loves my sister more than me, and you love your money more than you love me. What's the difference?" Crushed, Valerie drove off on her bike, forced to go back to her mother's home. Kyle was her last, best hope for escape. Now more than ever she felt completely alone. Along the way, however, she made a detour.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Victorian Period on the Mainland)

Sled had to suck it up. He stood there in the heat of the Summer Gardens wearing a dress, Tinker Bell's snow machine working overtime to keep him comfortable, while the garden fairies under Rosetta's guidance adorned him with strings of the colorful blooms. He looked, and felt, fairy whipped.

But this was not about giving into Rosetta's demands, but about opening the lines of communications. By giving her what she wanted Sled hoped to engage her in conversation to find out why she was acting so strangely.

"Okay, girls, now try this arrangement across her, I mean, his chest," Rosetta said. "And what a chest it is," she added, whispering it to Chloe who snickered.

Chloe, a young garden talent who arrived a few months before the border law between the warm seasons and the Winter Woods was withdrawn, had been Rosetta's partner in the Pixie Hollow Games that same year. She helped Ro to overcome her fear of mud and getting dirty and together they were the first Garden Fairy team to win the games in Pixie Hollow history. They two had become minor celebrities during the interim between games. Today, with their victory long behind them, they still remained good friends.

When the flowers were laid across Sled's chest Chloe giggled. "He looks very queenly," she said to Rosetta, who chortled along with the other garden fairies.

Sled just took a in a deep breath and sighed. Then decided to show he could laugh at himself and joined in. With the best, feminine voice his deep tones could muster, Sled began to imitate Queen Clarion. "Girls, girls," he said, lightly clapping his hands to get their attention. "I love what you've done today, but I think you should include some blue to represent the Winter Woods…, and Lord Milori." Sled added some wistfulness to his imitation when he said Milori's name.

The garden fairies stared at each other for a moment, then collapsed in peals of laughter. "That was perfect!" Chloe said with a gleeful tone. Her voice was a bit smoky, but it tended to pop and squeak when she spoke. Particularly when nervous, excited or happy.

"Girls, make sure that the flowers and my crown don't clash," Sled continued in his imitation.

The fairies laughed even harder.

He then held one of the strings of blooms and added, "This won't make my butt look big, will it?"

They laughed even harder, then suddenly stopped.

"What? Did I go too far?" he asked in his regular voice. That's when he saw the shadow on the ground. Two grand butterfly wings filtering the sunlight. "The queen's behind me, isn't she?"

"Yes, I am," came her soft voice. "But not too close, I wouldn't want to bump into my ample behind."

"O-oh flit."

"Now, now, let's have none of that language," Clarion said. "You do know that there is a penalty for impersonating the queen."

Sled looked nervous, his body began to quake. Petals began to shake off the blossoms he was wearing. "What…, what would that be, my generous queen?"

She smiled. "The performing talents are doing a revue of the history of Pixie Hollow this season. I would like you to portray me in the show. And I had better be impressed by your performance."

Sled gulped hard. "Eep!"

A wry smile came across the queen's face. "Oh, Sled, I'm just teasing," she said with a laugh. "Now why don't you let me try on those flowers?"

A gigantic sigh of relief emanated from his lips. Sled and the garden fairies then carefully removed the blooms he was wearing and gently put them on Queen Clarion. "Oh, it's beautiful. Garden Fairies, you've outdone yourself this year. But I think Sled is correct, a little blue for the Winter Woods and Milori would be a nice addition."

"Huh, well what do you know," Rosetta said. "All it needed was a man's touch. Ironic, isn't it?"

Chloe and the other garden fairies giggled.

"Ro, can we speak privately?" Sled asked her. She agreed and the two walked into a corner of the gardens away from the others.

Queen Clarion leaned over to one of the other garden fairies and asked her, "This doesn't make my butt look big, does it?"

"No, my queen, it is very slimming," she answered.

"Oh good."

**~O~**

"Sled, I'm so happy you came," Ro told him.

"Rosetta, do you love me?" he asked her.

"Well, of course," she answered.

"Then why did you need me to prove it to you?"

"What? I wasn't asking you prove anything."

Sled spoke to her in a gentle voice. "Rosetta, I set up the owl ride and dinner so we could spend some romantic time together. You, me and a spectacular light show. Ro, you've always said you wanted to see the Northern Lights, so I was giving you what you wanted. I wasn't trying to control you."

"Oh, Sled, that's so sweet of you, but I have other things I have to do, you understand?"

This was a profound about face for Rosetta, who just earlier today was infuriated after the same conversation. Sled began to wonder if the woman he loved so much was unstable in some way. Her friends all told him she was as level headed as they come. The only thing he was told that ever gave him cause for concern was her long list of former boyfriends. Now he wondered if he was about to become the next in long line of exes.

"I understand, Rosetta," he said looking rather dejected.

"But you're right, I shouldn't have to test your love and I need to make more time for both of us," she added. "Let's try again. Please?"

Sled's mouth turned up in a smile. He took the ring out of his pocket and slipped back on her finger. "Now how about that owl ride?"

"I'd love it," she said enthusiastically.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Valerie walked into a tattoo parlor. Two people, a man and woman, both in their early thirties walked out of the backroom. He was tall with black hair with a self assured look to his face and posture. She was shorter, with blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail, but with a gentler look to her countenance. Both were covered in tattoos from their necks down.

"How can we help you?" the girl asked pleasantly.

"I want a tattoo," Valerie said.

"Slash does good tattoos," the guy said striking a pose.

"Really?"

"Yeah, and I'm Lace," the girl added.

Valerie quirked an eyebrow. "Slash and Lace? What, you couldn't land a guest shot on _American Gladiators_?"

Lace cracked up. Slash, not so much. "Slash is not amused. Slash doesn't offer his art when not amused."

"Slash sound like Tarzan, only dumber," Valerie snapped.

"She got you there, Slash," Lace told him. "Don't mind doofus of the jungle, here. I'll be your tattoo artist today. What can I do for you?"

Valerie pointed to an airbrushed piece of a giant demon with stretched out leather wings and arms raised in triumph as reds and oranges lit up the background like the fires of Hell. "What's that one, it looks familiar."

"Oh that's Chernabog."

"Who?"

"Y'know, from the 'A Night On Bald Mountain' sequence at the end of _Fantasia_?"

Valerie nodded her head. "Ri-ight. I want that one."

"Where would you like it? Arm? Leg?"

"Back, from top to bottom. Covering the whole thing," Valerie said.

"Okay, well that will take plenty of visits for all the layered work. Let's set up an appointment for your first visit." Lace told her. "Ever had a tattoo before?"

Valerie shook her head no.

"Well, it's very painful, so you will have to be prepared for it."

"I don't care, I'm used to being hurt."

* * *

**Yeah, another new chapter. Hmm, so what do you think Hartley's plan is? And will Valerie get her tattoo or will Claire stop her before it's too late?  
**

**I hope you like this one. Thank you for reading and please leave a review.**

**Misty = Silvermist**

**Slash = Rumble**

**Lace = Glimmer**

**Kyle Lindwurm = ? (It's a surprise, but there is a hint in his name)**


	21. Chapter 21

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 5**

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

In the distance, a great castle lit up with fireworks. The king had announced a grand ball where the prince would choose a wife. Cinderella wanted to go. Instead, she was stuck sweeping the courtyard, forced to watch as her wicked stepmother and two ugly stepsisters rode off in a carriage to the ball. They had always been so mean to her. When Cinderella's mother passed away, her father remarried. He strongly believed that his young girl needed a proper mother figure to help her grow into a good young woman. His second wife brought with her two young daughters of her own to the family. However, upon his untimely death, the dark vanity of the stepmother and her two girls became known and poor Cinderella went from a life of privilege to a life of poverty. She was forced to work as the maid and perform menial chores every day from early morning until late at night.

Cinderella was not allowed to go to the ball. Instead, her stepmother was determined to have one of her own flesh and blood girls marry the prince. All hope seemed lost as the carriage drove away. Moments later her salvation arrived. Her fairy godmother appeared and offered to help. She was a dark skinned beauty dressed in a shimmering yellow gown and opulent fairy jewels. She carried with her a long and slender wand of fairy magic. She was going to send Cinderella to the ball where she would enchant and marry the handsome Prince Thomas.

However, before the Fairy Godmother could wave her magic wand and make all of Cinderella's dreams come true, the fairy was consumed in a ball of fire and was dead in a second. Her magic wand fell to the ground. A gruesome looking, gnarled hand reached down and picked up the magic wand. The hand belonged to The Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin.

"You killed my Fairy Godmother," Cinderella said, frightened. "She was going to send me to the ball."

"Now, now…, I got what I wanted," he said in return. "Do you know what this is?" he asked her holding up the wand, a gleeful smile on his face.

"Pure Magic."

"Pure evil! All magic comes with a price," he warned her. But Cinderella desperately wanted out of her horrid life. He instructed her to change it herself, but she could not without magic and bade The Dark One to grant her that wish. He conceded if she were willing to sign a contract. In exchange she would owe him a favor. He wanted something she would come to possess in the future.

"I care not for riches," she insisted. To get what she wanted, all Ella need to do was sign the contract, which she did in earnest. Waving about the wand, Rumpelstiltskin granted her wish, providing a beautiful ball gown, a magnificent carriage and of course the memorable element of her story, glass slippers. Soon she was away to the ball and her destiny.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

It was morning and Henry was walking down the main street to the school bus. He was accompanied by his birth mother, Emma Swan. She was not afraid of Henry's adopted mother, Mayor Regina Mills, and gladly walked with him in broad daylight. He was impressed. Everyone in town was afraid of Regina except for Emma. Henry decided that they should each have code names, but Emma wasn't sure what to call herself, so she settled on "Emma" until a better code name could be devised.

After seeing Henry off in the school in his bus, Emma began walking to Granny's diner, but was stopped by the sheriff's cruiser. His siren was blaring to get her attention.

"Are you going to arrest me again?" she asked.

Actually, he was impressed by her detective work finding the missing coma patient and was offering her a job as deputy. Emma declined saying she already had a job. Graham noted that there was very little call for a bail bonds woman in Storybrooke. She countered that there wasn't much need for another law officer, either.

"You can get a close up look," he answered. "There's dental."

Emma agreed to think about it. She was reluctant to take the offer because Regina seemed to have her hands in everything, including the Sheriff's office and didn't want to be under that woman's thumb. However, Regina would never authorize Graham to hire her, so his offer must be going against her wishes, stated or implied.

**~O~**

Emma went to Granny's where she ordered a hot chocolate drink with cinnamon. A young man with blonde hair entered the diner. Emma noted he was wearing the garb of a mail carrier. He dropped off some envelopes, picked up a few letters from Granny and then left. Widow Lucas opened up one of the letters and muttered "bill." She did the same with second. Then she came across the third and threw it aside. "Blasted thief."

Ruby picked up the letter and began to read it. A moment later she pulled her grandmother aside and asked her to read it through. "Well, I'll be. She didn't do it after all. Ruby, hold down the diner, I've got to make a call. And show this letter to everyone." Granny went into the back hallway and grabbed the phone. She dialed, a moment later she started talking.

"What was that all about," Emma asked Ruby.

"Oh, here." Ruby put down a letter in front of her. The envelope was from Winter's Heating. The letter enclosed explained that Claire Kensington was not responsible for Desiree Collingsworth's missing iPad. It was simply misplaced. The news article that should have cleared up the mistake was printed in the classified section of the Monday edition. Included was a copy of the original news story, a magnified copy of the second article and a sympathetic photo of Claire Kensington. The letter closed with this appeal.

_Mrs. Kensington was inadvertently accused of stealing, but she was not the culprit. Please support this widowed mother of two and her small business with your patronage. _

_With humble thanks, Hartley Winter._

"I'm not surprised it was under the car seat," Emma mumbled. "First place I would have looked." She handed the letter back to Ruby and thanked her. Granny walked back to the counter and Emma overheard her say that she couldn't reach whomever she was calling. Ruby told her to try again. A moment after, Ruby returned with Emma's hot chocolate drink, setting it down on the table with a friendly smile.

She took a sip of her drink and began to read the morning paper. Mayor Mills then came in and sat down next to her.

"Did you enjoy your walk with Henry this morning?" she asked Ms. Swan. Emma looked shocked. Regina made it known that nothing in this town happened without her knowing about it. She had eyes and ears everywhere. But there was another reason for stopping by.

"I came to tell you I'm not afraid of you spending time with Henry," Regina told Emma. Mayor Mills had done some research and found out that Emma had lived at seven different addresses in the last decade before coming to Storybrooke. And she never stayed in one place for more than two years and that was in Tallahassee, Florida. She was living a transient lifestyle. Regina no longer felt threatened because she was certain that sooner or later Emma was going to leave Storybrooke, and Henry, for good. Probably sooner.

Emma retorted that she had found a place with Mary Margaret. But she paid no rent, Regina reminded her. For something to grow it needs roots and she had none. Whereas the other residents had a home or a business or a full time job, she had nothing to keep her here. Mayor Mills then advised Emma to consider ending her relationship with Henry once and for, possibly with a clean break. After all, her history showed an unwillingness to stay in any one place for long and it would only hurt Henry once she left town.

Mayor Mills then bid her good day and left the diner. Emma was so furious with Regina that when she stood up, she accidentally spilled her chocolate all over her shirt.

"Really?" she said, exasperated.

"Eesh!" Ruby said as she walked up with a towel.

"Do you have a laundry room I could use?" Emma asked her.

Ruby pointed her to the laundry room used by Granny's Inn to wash all of the linens. Emma headed towards the hallway that lead to the inn when Widow Lucas ran past Emma saying, "There she is, I'll be right back, Ruby." She stopped to watch Granny run across the street, talk to and then embrace a middle aged woman. That same women that was in the letter she had just read. Emma then proceeded to the laundry room.

**~O~**

"Claire, Claire wait," Granny shouted. Widow Lucas hastened across the street, dodging cars and waving an envelope in the air.

Claire had come to another shop on the main street. She was nicely dressed and held a sheet of paper in her hand. It was a résumé. Widow Lucas knew right away that Claire was job hunting.

"Look at this." The restaurant owner handed over the envelope that was addressed to her diner. "Read it," she said, not really breathing hard.

Mrs. Kensington took the envelope and opened it. She read the letter inside and the two news stories. "That was where the article was hidden? In the classifieds? Hardly anyone reads those." Claire took special note that it was Hartley Winter who had sent out this notice.

"I know, I'm so sorry for not believing you on Monday," Widow Lucas said with genuine reconciliation on her face and in her heart. "And I apologize for calling you a thief. I should have believed you then and I didn't. How could I think that a nice lady like you would do such a thing? We widows have to stick together through thick and thin. Can you ever forgive me?"

Claire smiled and wept. Her friendship with Granny was back on solid ground. "Of course, but there is nothing to forgive."

They embraced like two friends reunited after a long separation. "Now come with me, I want to make it up to you. I won't take no for an answer. Breakfast is on me today."

"Oh, I'm sorry, but I ate at home this morning," Claire told her. "I'm not hungry."

"No matter, bring Valerie and Tina with you for lunch. On the house," Granny instructed. "I expect to see you there and you can count on seeing this letter in my window where everyone can read it."

Just at that moment, the shop right in front of them posted that very same letter in its window. The shopkeeper noticed Claire standing on the sidewalk and greeted her with a smile and an enthused wave. Claire waved back, laughing with Granny at the coincidence. "It looks like everyone got one of these."

Granny and Claire embraced once again and the restaurant owner added, "Oh you've got yourself a real guardian angel in that Hartley Winter."

The mother of two sniffled with happiness and said, "Yes, I do." When the two women separated Claire confirmed that she would be at the diner for lunch. "See you then." Granny then stepped in a little closer and whispered, "You know, I think Hartley's taken a shine to you. He's a fine man if you ask me."

Claire just laughed. Granny bid her goodbyes and then walked back across the street, dodging cars like a much younger woman and then disappeared back into the diner.

_Yeah, he is a fine man for doing something so noble_, she thought. "Oh, I forgot to call him back the other day," she remembered. Claire tossed her resume into her minivan and climbed in. She was going to call up Hartley just to thank him. While dialing his work number, several passersby would smile and wave to her or give her a thumbs up signal. Leroy even walked up to her window and after hemming and hawing a bit said, "I'm sorry. You're no thief. I'm an idiot."

"No you're not, Leroy," she answered him, smiling. "Thank you so very much."

"Here," the janitor handed her ten dollars. "So you can eat at Granny's."

"Oh no, Leroy, you don't have to do this." She tried to hand it back to him, but he insisted in his own gruff way.

"I was a real ass to you the other day." He then wrapped her fingers around the ten dollar bill. "You need it more than I do," he said and walked off.

"Thank you," Claire shouted to him. _Underneath that hard scrabble exterior lay a good heart_, she thought to herself. Claire then finished dialing Hartley's number.

**~O~**

Emma Swan made her way to the laundry room of the inn. She pulled off her shirt and angrily threw it and her jacket into the empty washing machine. She added a bit of soap, slammed the lid closed and started the wash cycle. Then she grabbed a clean blouse that was hanging from the lines and put it on. Emma was so furious at the mayor's latest attempt to sabotage her relationship with Henry that she almost didn't hear the sounds of sniffling and whimpering inside the room.

"No, no-no-no," a young and pretty blonde woman cried. "The sheets, their pink." Indeed, the bed sheet she pulled from the dryer was very pink. It was supposed to be white.

"Try bleach," Emma told her off handedly. Then she noticed that the woman was very pregnant. "Oh."

"I felt a contraction last night," she told Emma. "The doctor said the baby will come any day now."

The girl, Ashley, was a nineteen year old mother to be with no husband and no prospects for work better than as a maid at Granny's Inn. Everyone kept telling her that there was no way she could possibly take care of the baby on her own. She wasn't old enough, not mature enough, not well enough employed, and everyone seemed to be pointing out that she was all alone. At least that was how Ashley told the story. At first, Emma didn't want to hear it, but as the maid spoke she felt for the poor girl.

"No one thinks I can do anything," Ashley sniffled. "Maybe they're right."

"Screw 'em," Emma advised.

"What?"

"Screw! Them!" she replied with emphasis.

Emma pointed out that she had a child when she was only eighteen and had to endure the exact same talk from those around her. Everyone loved to tell her what to do, particularly with a child on the way. Ms. Swan advised Ashley that no matter what her decision, the choice was ultimately her own. When others try to tell her what she is or isn't, she needed to push back and tell them they were wrong. If Ashley wanted others to view her differently, she needed to make them by way of her decisions and actions.

Ashley was responsible for her own life because in this world there were no fairy godmothers who can wave their magic wands and make things all better. That was all fairy tale nonsense and this was the real world. Only Ashley could change her life, if she wanted it bad enough.

Ashley the maid thought long and hard on what Emma told her and decided to take action and make a meaningful change in her life.

**~O~**

During the lunch hour, Claire brought her two daughters for the noon meal. Valerie and Tina stopped at the door and read the letter that Granny had posted in the window. Tina was elated by the news. Valeria lowered her head, looking almost contrite. She began to wonder if her decision to leave was premature. She thought that her mother's world was about to collapse in on itself and Valerie wanted out. This letter changed everything.

Inside, the atmosphere was almost festive for the Kensington family. They were greeted with smiles and nods from every diner in the room. Granny personally took the order from them. Claire didn't want to be greedy with Granny's generosity, but the older woman wouldn't hear of it. Widow Lucas insisted that they all order bigger meals. Claire settled on grilled chicken breast plate with mixed vegetables and a water. She had to watch her blood pressure. Tina ordered a bacon cheeseburger with chips and a Coke while Valerie ordered the same thing but with a Mr. Pibb. And an extra pickle. She glared at her sister when adding that last detail. Granny put in the order and then added a slice of pie for each one.

"Thank you, Granny," Claire told her. "But this is too much."

"Oh no," Widow Lucas replied. "It's not enough. But I hope it will do."

"It's plenty," Claire answered.

**~O~**

Later that evening, Mr. Gold closed up shop. He hobbled away, using his cane to help him with his lame right leg. Moments later, Ashley snuck up to the front door and smashed the glass so she could open the door from the inside. The interior of the shop was filled with strange and unusual objects. A windmill lawn ornament. A mobile composed of miniature glass blown animals. The craftsmanship was outstanding, almost like works of art.

There were two marionette dolls. A male and female that looked as if shock or terror was permanently carved into their faces. The hand of one doll was gripping the hand of the other. Like two lovers permanently trapped in wood.

Ashley kept looking for something when she heard her name called. It was Mr. Gold. He must have heard the crashing of the glass and came back to the store. "What are you doing?"

"Changing my life," she said right as she spritzed pepper spray into his eyes. Mr. Gold cried out in pain. He fell backwards, losing balance and knocking his head against the sharp edge of a chess set. Gold lay on the ground, unconscious. Ashley went through his pockets and found a key. She used it to open a safe in his wall and removed a piece of paper before leaving the shop. From there she went looking for a friend.

**~O~**

At about the same time, Mayor Regina Mills sat down to her desk at home and started sorting her personal mail. She came across the letter from Winter's Heating. She opened it and began reading it. Regina expected a coupon or a friendly reminder for service. Instead, she found the letter freeing Claire of any responsibility. Regina's slight smile turned into a frown. Then she wrinkled her face into a sneer and anger pulsed through her veins. She crushed the letter, pounding it into a tiny ball before hurling it into the wastebasket with disgust.

"You win this round, Claire," she grumbled. "And it looks like you have an advocate I didn't know about."

Then Regina's frown turned back into a wicked smile. Regina was okay with this news. Now she was aware of Hartley as Claire's protector. Next time Regina would be prepared. Hartley had to be removed from the field of battle first before tearing down Mrs. Kensington. It all came down to strategy and tactics. Know your enemy better than they know themselves.

"Next time, you won't have a friend in town who will come to your aid, my little fairy queen. And that is when I will get my revenge."

* * *

**Whew, I managed another chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.**

**Scorecard**

**Ashley Boyd = Cinderella (aka Ella).**


	22. Chapter 22

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 6**

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The evacuation)

"Come on, Cheese, move along, move along," Rosetta bade the little mouse. The sassy garden fairy was delivering the first load of grasses, reeds and other items for Tinker Bell to fashion her ice gondolas. Cheese led a group of cart pulling mice who were bringing the much needed materials to the Winter Woods. When she reached the border, Rosetta handed over several pages to her opposite number, a winter garden fairy who was responsible for the plants and trees that grew in the perpetually snow covered region.

When the announcement was made that Pixie Hollow was coming to an end in two days, it struck everyone with such a force. Many were stunned into paralysis, others became numb and showed no emotion at all, while some wept uncontrollably until consoled enough to work towards their escape. Rosetta, instead, became worried about what would happen to her love, Sled. The winter fairies were having to evacuate to the north, towards a distant island where the average annual temperatures would be cool enough to keep them safe from losing their wings. England was far too temperate and the summers would be dangerous times for the winter fairies.

Now it seemed that she would lose the one sparrow man she truly adored. Rosetta had many other suitors in her life, but none of those relationships lasted. With Sled it was different. Or at least it seemed that way until recently. His attention and adoration of her seemed to be waning and Rosetta could not understand why. Now with this looming disaster Ro felt a sense of loss that she had never known before.

Rather than go back to the gardens and gather more materials she instead asked the frost fairies at the border to frost her wings to protect them from the cold. From there Rosetta fled deep into the Winter Woods and sought out her love. Along the way she saw the warm and cold season tinkers working spiritedly on their ice gondolas. She also witnessed the giant bison being herded towards the warm seasons. She inquired and learned that Captain Hook was willing to take the animals north to one of the small islands where they could graze under the watchful eye of human caretakers.

Captain Hook and his pirates did not immediately believe Peter Pan when he told them of Never Land's impending demise, but the seriousness in Peter's voice convinced him otherwise. Pan was a young boy prone to cheery playfulness. The somber maturity he displayed when speaking with Hook was so unlike him that the pirates could not deny the gravity of the situation.

Finally, the redheaded garden fairy found her dearest love. He oversaw the gathering of the animals for the impending escape. They were to be loaded onto the ice gondolas and shipped far north with the Winter Fairies. She approached, calling out to him.

"Sled! Oh, Sled. What's going to happen to us?" she asked him, terrified of what the answer might be.

"Go away, Rosetta!" he barked. The garden fairy was surprised by his rebuke of her.

"What?! Sled, can't you see what's going on around us?" she asked rhetorically. "Pixie Hollow is going to be destroyed, how can ask me to leave?"

"You've done a good job of leaving before," he said angrily. "You've had plenty of practice."

"But why? I love you. You love me."

"No, Rosetta, that's the problem. You don't love me," he said. Sled stopped herding the snowshoe rabbits. Then he turned to her and spoke with a firmness of conviction she had not heard in his voice in sometime. "Now you listen to me. These last few years have been a waste for me. You've become more and more selfish and self-aggrandizing. Lately when I've suggested something for us to do, you refuse to do it. But if you have an idea no matter how crazy it is, I'm not allowed to turn it down or suggest something else. Everything has to be all about what _you_ want."

"Oh Sled, if that's all that's bothering you-." He cut her off.

"There's more," he said. Sled shoved his face into hers. Rosetta had no choice but to recoil as he spoke with increasing resentment. "Twice you've agreed to marry me and twice you teased me. You played your games and ran your little tests of my devotion. You treated me like I meant little to you except as a toy to order around and make you happy. You actually had me believing that you wanted to be my wife, then you found worthless reasons to back out."

"Then let's get married now," Rosetta pleaded. "We can ask the Keeper to perform the ceremony."

"It won't change my mind, Ro. You'll be on the Mainland, I'll be far away on a snow capped island. We'll be married in name only. This is why I mean when I say you're selfish. You only want to do this so you can say you're married without any real commitment. You get what you want, and I'm stuck alone out there. It's just another game you play. Well I'm through. No more, Rosetta. I'm sick of your little games and I'm sick of you. Now get out of my sight. I never want to see you again."

"You can't mean that?"

"Yes, I can!" he roared. "Now go. You're a tease, a charlatan, Jezebel. You're nothing but a… a… fraud in a pretty red dress."

Rosetta was struck deeply by those painful words. She began to tear up. Rosetta could not believe what Sled had told her. She ran, flying through the Winter Woods, crying her eyes out. She raced into the warm seasons before finally crashing through her cherished gardens. "I'm not a tease, I'm not a Jezebel. I'm not a fraud. Why did he say those things to me?" she sobbed.

Finally, Rosetta took refuge inside the bloom of an open daisy. She curled up inside and pulled its petals closed around her. There she remained, whimpering, sniffling, crying and trying to make sense of what just happened.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Mayor Mills was finishing her makeup as she apologized to Henry for having to go to a scheduled city council meeting on Saturday. She disliked it as much as he did, but as mayor she had to attend. Henry was to do his homework, not to watch the TV. And he was to stay home.

He took that to mean stay away from his birth mother.

Whatever it may have meant to him that was what Regina ultimately wanted. "I'll be back at five sharp," she said walking out the door.

**~O~**

Emma sat on the floor of Mary Margaret's apartment. She was going through a few boxes that had arrived for her today. These were her possessions, shipped in from her now former apartment in Boston.

"That's all?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I'm not sentimental," Emma replied.

"Makes it easier to move," Mary Margaret added.

A knock at the door interrupted their conversation. Mr. Gold stood in the hallway, he asked to speak with Emma, alone. Mary Margaret excused herself and went into her bedroom to shower. Mr. Gold had a proposition for Emma. Ashley Boyd had broken into his store last night and stolen something from him. She had been rambling about changing her life.

Emma said he should just go to the police. Gold told her she was just a mixed up girl and didn't want to send her to jail. He wanted discretion. Ashley was pregnant and he didn't want to see her baby born behind bars. This statement cut Emma deeply. Henry was born to her in jail. She could sympathize with why Gold came to her and not Sheriff Graham.

Gold's proposition was simple. Ms. Swan was to track down Ashley and return his merchandise to him. Emma agreed, but not for Mr. Gold, for Ashley and the baby. Gold didn't care for her reasons only that it be done.

As the pawn shop owner went out the door he was greeted by Henry. He had snuck out of his house and come to Mary Margaret's place. When Mr. Gold left and the door was closed, Henry asked if Emma knew who that was.

Of course, she knew.

He was relieved because he was still trying to figure out which fairy tale character Mr. Gold was.

"Oh, I meant in reality," Emma answered. Henry had come to spend the day with Emma. His mother was gone to until five and he had most of the day to himself. Emma, however, didn't want him tagging along because she was working a job. She didn't want him in harm's way if things got sticky. Henry, however, insisted. "I just want to spend time with you," he petitioned.

"Oh that is not fair," she complained. Henry went along with her anyway.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Fireworks lit up the night sky over the castle. Cinderella was giddy. Every time those fireworks shot into the air it meant something grand was happening at the castle. Now those fireworks were for her, she told her new husband Prince Thomas.

During the dance at the reception Cinderella was greeted into the family by Thomas' father, the king. He hoped she would one day add to their happy family. The dance placed the women in a large circle. Men would move from stationary woman to stationary woman. The two would dance a bit then move on. It allowed for socializing and celebration. Snow White, however, broke rank and with a giggle congratulated Ella for showing that anyone could change their lives. "I'm so proud of you," Show told her dear friend.

When Ella moved on to the next man in line, it wasn't who she was expecting. It was Rumpelstiltskin, dressed impeccably for the reception. He was here to make sure that Ella was happy with her end of the bargain. It looked as if she had gotten everything she ever wanted. Ella was very worried by his presence. She knew how dangerous he could be. "What do you want?" she asked him.

Rumpelstiltskin was here to remind her of her part of the bargain. But he didn't want money. He wanted something else. "Something you do not yet possess, but that I know is coming." Rumpelstiltskin put his hand on her stomach. "…your first born!"

With those words he disappeared into the crowd, leaving Cinderella frightened for herself, her family and the love she had forged with Thomas. Would he reject her after finding out? She choose not to tell him.

**~O~**

Months later Ella was in her royal bedchamber, packing her bags. It was thundering outside as she threw clothes into a travel chest. Thomas unexpectedly entered the room. She thought he was hunting, but the bad weather changed his plans. He saw the packing she was doing and inquired if they were going somewhere. Backed into a corner, Cinderella had to confess what happened at the ball. It wasn't her fairy godmother who granted her wish, but Rumpelstiltskin. She had traded something for this grand new life she had.

"What does he want?" Thomas asked her.

"He tricked me," Ella replied. She thought he would want gold or jewels, but that wasn't it. Ella announced that she was pregnant and that Rumpelstiltskin wanted their baby. Thomas was shocked and horrified. Cinderella thought he would hate her. But instead, he said something very different. "He may have brought us together, but the love we share is entirely our own."

She was heartened by his words, but Ella was still at a loss of what to do about Rumpelstiltskin. Thomas had a plan, a simple one. Offer him a new deal.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire's cell phone didn't stop ringing all morning. Many of her former customers were calling to apologize and to reschedule appointments. She did receive one or two calls filled with hateful messages. They didn't believe the mailing and thought that it was some sleazy ploy to avoid prosecution. Claire dared them to check the newspaper's internet archive to find the misplaced story. That's when they would hang up on her.

There was always a couple of those people in every crowd, she mused.

Claire felt so much better now. However, she did not recover all of her lost jobs. Several like lawn work or minor repairs had already been scheduled with someone else or had already been completed. She estimated that only about more than half of her previous appointments had been restored. A few extra small jobs came her way, but it was still going to leave her with a budget shortfall in a couple of weeks.

Her visit to the hospital and then appointments with Dr. Hopper were costing her. Insurance paid most of it, but she was still responsible for the out of pocket expenses. Claire sighed, after figuring out all the outlays she had to make including employees, gasoline, equipment rentals, food, housing bills, insurance premiums, cable TV and internet, mobile phone plans and what she had to put aside for income and property taxes she was going to come up short on one very big payment. Mr. Gold.

She still had time, maybe some new work would come along to help. In the meantime she decided it was best if she and her girls ate at home more often and took lunch rather than stopping by at Granny's regularly. Poor Widow Lucas, the last thing Claire wanted was to alienate the woman after she had shown so much generosity.

_Well, maybe a few lunches at the diner wouldn't hurt... too much._

**~O~**

On the drive to the diner, Emma asked Henry if he had seen the flyers that seemed to be in nearly every store window.

"Yeah, my mom had a fit over one last night," he told her.

"So who is this Claire Kensington?" she asked him.

Henry told her all he could remember. This was the same information she already possessed. He told her that he had been searching through his book of fairy tales, but couldn't come up with a match.

"Her daughter reminds me of someone," he admitted.

"Okay, who?"

"Promise not to make fun of me?"

"Henry, I would never do that."

He told Emma that Tina reminded him of Tinker Bell.

"What? You mean like in Peter Pan, Never Land and Captain Hook?"

"You said you wouldn't make fun of me!"

"You're right, I'm sorry," she said apologetically. "Why does Tina remind you of Tinker Bell?"

"Well, first Tina looks a bit like Tinker Bell from the book illustrations. Second, she has a fascination with tools and fixing things."

"Wait, by that definition Marco could be Tinker Bell," Emma said.

"But Marco isn't a teenaged girl with blonde hair," Henry reminded her. The one thing that did bother Henry was that nowhere in the stories of Peter Pan did it mention her having a mother. The first story that included Tinker Bell announced that fairies were born from a baby's laugh. Not the way people were born.

"Yeah, and what does a ten year old know about how people are born?" Emma asked.

"I know everything," he said. "The stork brings them."

"Oh the stork, yeah that's good. I'll go along with that one all day long."

"But with so many people in the world today, I can't imagine that there are enough storks to make all the deliveries," Henry concluded. "I'm thinking FedEx is involved."

Emma just laughed at this child's imagination. Now he was sounding like a regular ten year old.

She pulled her car into the parking lot of Granny's Diner and went inside to speak with Ruby. Since Ashely worked at the inn, Ruby might know where to find the girl. She found out very little, but what she did learn was that Ashley had family. However, she was not on speaking terms with her stepmother and two stepsisters.

Henry caught the stepmother and stepsisters part and suggested that Ashley might be Cinderella. Just pregnant. Something that wasn't part of the stories he read or the animated movie he had seen so many times.

Ashley was also trying to improve herself by taking night classes. Even though every person Ashley knew had absolutely no confidence in the girl. That's when a loud noise outside caught Ruby's attention.

"Billy," she yelled, "You almost broke my wolf thingie."

Billy was the tow truck driver and was delivering Ruby's old, red Pontiac Firebird from the shop. He accidentally let the winch go and the vehicle dropped about one foot to the street. Fortunately, the car and the delicate, glass blown wolf which hung from the mirror were both unharmed. Something he pointed out. Ruby was satisfied that her little totem wasn't broken.

Ruby also informed Emma that Ashley had an ex-boyfriend. Ms. Swan wanted to know if he was involved in her disappearance.

"That would mean he was involved at all," Ruby answered. Shawn had dumped Ashley the moment he found out she was pregnant. Emma got Shawn's address and went to see him. Maybe from him she could find out more.

* * *

**Another chapter to keep you entertained. I do hope you find it interesting. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 7**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

With no work scheduled today, Claire drove around the neighborhoods looking for jobs to pick up for today or Sunday. Anything that would bring in a little extra cash. She kept answering her cell phone receiving apologies, re-appointments and the occasional new work order even as she drove. Nothing she could schedule immediately, but at least it was progress. Both of her girls were with her, but Tina was actively helping by writing down each new job with the time, date, location and approximate cost.

Then Claire got a call that floored her. The work that was being done at the renovation house had been put on hold until the incident with the iPad was concluded. She had been trying to get the job restarted, but was unable to contact the home's owner. Now he was calling.

"I'm sorry, Claire. I got the notice last night and I had to apologize for not trusting you," he told her. "You've always been the trustworthy type, with great attention to detail. I should have supported you."

_Yes, you should have_, Claire thought. As much as she enjoyed the outpouring of support, she learned the awful truth of just how many people were willing to turn against her. She was getting irritated by this "we should have trusted you more" stuff hitting her all day long. At least Hartley Winter had the decency to wait rather than condemn her off hand.

"I also wanted you to know that I've already hired another contractor to finish the job." That hit her like a ton of bricks.

"But you said…,"

"I know that I said, but I couldn't wait indefinitely for this to be resolved. The house had to be finished on time, so I hired someone else."

"Well un-hire them," she demanded.

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Claire. Your contract was terminated the instant I hired the new contractor."

She slammed the brakes on her truck. Then she pulled over out of the traffic lanes. "Why didn't you call me!?" she yelled into the receiver. Looking over at her two girls, Claire composed herself and spoke again more calmly. "Why didn't you call me to let me know?"

"Uh…, I'm…, I'm sorry. But that's just the way it is."

"You didn't even have the guts to call me and let me know I was fired?" her face started turning red.

"She looks just like you when you get totally pissed," Valerie whispered to Tina. Tina gave her older sister a "you can't be serious" expression.

"I know you're angry, but I was expecting…."

"Expecting what?" she said, yelling again into the receiver. "That I would go to jail?! Go away and hide under a rock so you wouldn't have to get your hands dirty? You said you should have trusted me more. Well I trusted you, but I'm the one getting screwed here!"

"Claire, look, it is obvious you are upset. Why don't I call back when you're in a better mood?"

"You stabbed me in the back and then expect me to be in a better mood? Are you insane?!" Claire then jammed her finger into the cellphone's "off" button to hang up the call. "Ow!" She shook that same finger, the pain was sharp, but quick.

This completely messed up her calculations for the month. She had figured into her budget the money for completion of the project. Now the project had been taken away from her.

Claire dialed the phone. She called up the same homeowner. "You better not screw me out of the money you owe me," she yelled. "I worked my ass off to try and finish your home's renovation and you had better pay me for all the days I put in on that eyesore!"

She listened for a moment. "Damn right it had better be in the mail! And if it isn't you had better pray I don't sue your sorry ass into the poorhouse!" Claire smashed her finger into the phone again to end the call. Again she had to shake the sharp pain out of her hand. "Damn phones, why can't they make these stupid buttons softer?"

Tina and Valerie were both looking at their mother with startled if not frightened looks. They had rarely ever seen her this way. Forceful, strong willed and steadfast. Often she would lose her backbone and acquiesce to whatever demand was being made of her. This was a very different person than they were used to.

"Okay, who are you and what have you done with our mother?" Valerie asked with a snide tenor to her voice.

Claire just sighed and all of her willfulness seemed to just drain out of her. "Oh I'm sorry, sweethearts. I'm just a little upset."

"Upset? I thought you were going to reach through that phone and rip that guy's throat out," Valerie added. "Sort of like in _The Jetsons_."

"I wish I could," Claire grumbled. "I would rip his freaking head off and crap down his throat so fast he wouldn't know what him." Then she remembered who was in the truck with her. "Forget I said that. And don't use that kind of language. I shouldn't be using it, either."

Tina then spoke up, offering to ask for small jobs from Marco at his shop, Standard Clocks. In the past, Tina had done occasional work for him as she learned the joys of using precision tools. Back then he paid her a small wage and gave her small projects to work out on her own. Marco was taken by her bright eyed enthusiasm.

_"Oh, I wish my wife and I had a child just like you," he had told her on more than one occasion. "It would make our lives that much sweeter. Yes? But it was not to be. I think if we had a daughter she might be just like you." Typical Marco. Wistful for what he didn't have, but always grateful what he did._

Claire just looked at her youngest, surprised by her maturity and marveling at the little one's growing sense of responsibility. "Oh, honey, you don't need to do that," she told her.

"I don't mind," Tina replied. "It's kind of fun to work at his shop."

After a moment of thought Claire agreed. "Okay, but make sure all of your homework is done every night."

"I promise," Tina assured her.

"And you get your chores done, too."

"I will."

Claire embraced her youngest and held her tight. She smiled warmly and whispered "thank you" to her sweet little girl who was growing up right before her very eyes.

Both women then turned to Valerie. She just harrumphed, crossed her arms and turned her backs to them. Valerie could feel their eyes boring into her soul. "Okay, fine." Valerie dug into her pockets and handed over some money. "Here, take it."

Claire looked into her hands and saw four fifty dollar bills. "How did you-?"

"I've been saving it up," Val answered before Claire could finish.

The mother of two reached across the cab of the truck and hugged Valerie tightly. "Hey, enough!" Val complained.

Tina, who was caught in the middle, started yelling. "Mom! You're crushing me!"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Claire apologized.

At about that moment, an old, red Pontiac Firebird drove by. Tina was the first to notice. "Hey, isn't that Ruby's car?"

"Yeah, but that wasn't Ruby," Valerie said. "Who is that?"

"I don't know, but I'm going to find out." Claire dialed her cell phone, calling Granny's Diner and spoke with Ruby. The waitress answered that she had loaned her car to a friend. "Thanks for having my back, Mrs. Kensington," she said.

**~O~**

The house of Sean Herman was a spacious newer home in a wealthy district. Emma spoke directly to Sean, asking him about Ashley and the baby. Emma got the impression he didn't leave Ashley willingly and that he cared for her, but something was holding him back.

An expensive, green Jaguar pulled into the driveway while they spoke. The man who got out interrupted their conversation telling Sean to go into the house so he could talk with Ms. Swan alone. The man was Sean's father, and it didn't take a degree in logic to conclude that he was the reason for Sean giving up on Ashley.

Mr. Herman wanted nothing to do with Ashley or the baby. He saw her as she was, not as she could be. Sean's father couldn't believe that Ashley could ever raise the child on her own and Emma got the distinct impression that he didn't want that _maid_ in his family. Then Emma was blindsided with a bombshell. Mr. Herman had paid Ashley a healthy sum to give up the child so it could adopted by someone with better means to care for it. That is when Emma realized that Mr. Gold's "merchandise" wasn't some trinket, but the baby Ashley was carrying. That was why she had been hired in the first place.

Before she left, Ms. Swan was able to talk with Sean again, this time without his father hovering nearby. She could sense Sean truly loved and cared for Ashley, but his father would most likely cut him off if Sean tried to marry the girl. After living a life of easy privilege, willingly giving it up for hard working poverty was difficult to do. Even for true love. But Emma thought she could foster his sympathies enough for him to do the right thing. She told Sean that Ashley was running away with the baby. HIS baby.

Maybe that would get through to him.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Evacuation)

Rosetta had been coaxed out of her hiding place by Chloe, her garden fairy friend. Ro joined in and kept working, but it was readily apparent to everyone that her mind was somewhere else. Just thinking about the winter season made Rosetta focus on Sled and the awful things he had said to her. They kept repeating in her head. The same painful refrain echoing non-stop all day long and into the night. On that second day, she and her guild mates were gathering all the seeds and sproutlings for transport to the Mainland. With just hours before the curse was to arrive, it all boiled over.

"Do you think I'm a Jezebel, Chloe?!" she asked.

"What?"

"Do you think I'm a Jezebel?! A charlatan? A liar? A deceiver?"

"No. I don't think so, but I haven't known you long enough to say different, Rosetta," Chloe admitted. "Maybe one of your friends could tell you." Chloe giggled nervously, a habit of hers when stressed.

Rosetta looked around at the other garden fairies, many of whom did know her well enough. "Well, does anyone here think I'm a deceiver?"

They all just looked at her strangely.

"You actually think that, don't you?" Ro said, fearful of the answer. Her body trembled. Her wings twitched uncontrollably. Rosetta's eyes swelled with tears. "Oh my gosh! You do think that."

"Uh, Rosetta, what brought this on?" Fern asked.

"Yeah, you've been acting strangely since yesterday afternoon," Lilac added.

Rosetta broke down crying. She spilled every word spoken between her and Sled yesterday. What was said, all the terrible things he called her. Why he wouldn't marry her and chased her off. It spilled out like someone opening up a damn and releasing all the water.

"Oh, Rosetta," Ivy consoled. She began to tear up and wept alongside Rosetta. "You must feel awfu-ul."

"Not helping, Ivy," Lilac stated.

Ivy was prone to weeping and crying over almost anything at the drop of a hat. Or a flower petal. "I'm sorry," she said through her weeping. "I just can't…, I just can't… can't help myse-elf!"

Chloe pulled Rosetta away from the blubbering Ivy and asked what she though made Sled say those awful things. Rosetta had no idea. As far as she knew, she and Sled had been a great couple up until recently when he started losing interest in her.

"He said I…, I wouldn't listen to him," she whimpered. "That I made him do only what I wanted. That's not true. Is it?"

"I don't know, Rosetta. Is it?" Chloe asked, turning the question back around.

"Why ask me?"

"You were there, remember? Did you want him to only do 'you' things? Or were you willing to concede and do the things he wanted, as well?"

"Of course I went along with his silly ideas," she said.

"Went along? Silly?" Lilac repeated. "Sounds like you were just humoring him."

"Yeah," Fern added, "you can't be in love with someone and treat them like they don't matter. No wonder he left you."

"But he does matter!" Rosetta countered. "He always mattered to me. I can't stop thinking about him."

"It sounds like you want him to be a fantasy husband," Chloe told her. "Not a real flesh and blood husband."

"Yeah!" Ivy screamed. "You're so me-ean!" She started crying again.

"I bet that is why you have so many ex-boyfriends, Rosetta," Fern said. "You want a fantasy, not the person. You order them around so you can live that idealized life you want and end up pushing them away."

"But he's perfect for me!" Rosetta yelled. "He's always been perfect."

"Maybe it's time to remember you have to be perfect for him, too," Lilac advised.

"Yeah, Rosetta. He's giving and you're taking. It's time you started giving in return," Chloe said. "You can't just humor him. It needs to be genuine, just like with best friends."

"Relationships are a two way street, Ro," Fern added. "Remember, a one way street will always come to a dead end."

The look on Rosetta's face changed drastically. At first, she looked horrified by what she had done. Then she seemed almost reborn. "You're right. I have been selfish and unyielding. Well no more of that. I'm a brand new Rosetta. It's time for me to make up with my man. Girls, it's been an honor gardening with you."

"Are you leaving us?" Chloe asked.

"I am," she answered. "I know what I have to do now. He made wonderful sacrifices for me and I took them for granted. Now it's time for me to make a wonderful sacrifice for him. I'm going north with the Winter Fairies."

"What?"

"Rosetta, you can't!"

"Yeah, you'll freeze."

"You girls can't talk me out of it. I'm going home to gather up all my winter clothes," she told them. "Then I'm heading for the border and I won't look back. No offense, but for the first time in my life, I finally understand true love. And its name is Sled!"

The garden fairies hugged Rosetta one at a time. They said their tearful goodbyes and then watched as she flitted off into the housing district to collect her things.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"Why didn't you tell me she sold the baby?" Emma asked of Ruby back at the diner. She was quite angry that critical information had been withheld from her in this investigation.

Ruby, however, refused to talk in front of Henry. He was the mayor's boy and saw him as a threat.

"Hey, I'm on your side," he pleaded, but to no avail. Emma told Henry to go home and he dejectedly left the diner.

Ruby told her that Ashley had changed her mind and wanted to keep the baby. As they two women talked, Emma noticed Ruby's wolf charm sitting on the counter. A quick glance outside revealed that the red Firebird was missing. The waitress didn't send Emma to Sean's for information, but to give Ashley a head start. The woman with child was trying to make a run for it to Boston.

Emma dashed back into her yellow VW Beetle and drove after the girl. In the rear seat Henry suddenly popped up wanting to know where they were going next. Emma was at first frightened by the surprise then angered by his disobedience. She told him about the maid, but first she was going to take Henry home.

He correctly concluded that if she did that, she wouldn't be able to catch up to Ashley. Emma knew he was right and kept going. When he found out the girl was trying to leave town, Henry said she couldn't.

"Bad things happen to anyone who tries to leave," he said with desperation. Sure enough, when the yellow bug reached the town limits the red Firebird was found crashed on the side of the road. Ashley was sitting in a nearby field. She was going into labor.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Thomas' plan was simple. Rumpelstiltskin would be lured by the promise of a new contract. Cinderella would tell him she was expecting twins and wanted to strike a new bargain for the second child. His desire to strike deals was his one weakness, Grumpy informed her. Once properly enticed, Ella was to get him sign with a red quill pen Thomas provided. The pen had been enchanted with fairy magic and would render him paralyzed and unable to use his dark magic against her.

Grumpy then added that the old mines he and his brother dwarves used to work were now converted into a special prison just to hold Rumpelstiltskin. She was shown the cell where he would be held for the rest of his immortal life. Ella was uncertain about this. Magic had gotten her into this bad situation.

"All magic comes with a price," she said. "What if there is price for this magic?"

"Then I will pay it," Thomas reassured her. Ella was still apprehensive, but went along with the plan. It was the only way to get out of losing her unborn child to that evil imp.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Evacuation)

"Sled, Sled, I want to apologize," she yelled to her beau.

"Not now, Ro," he yelled, irritated. "I've too much work to play your stupid, little mind games."

"But this isn't a mind game," she answered. "I understand what I did wrong. And why you were right."

"Sure, tell me another one. Get lost!"

"I'm not getting lost!" she screamed, stomping her foot for emphasis. "I'm not leaving until you listen to me. I want to marry you right this instant."

"And what makes now any different than the other times you lied," he growled.

"Because this time I'm coming with you!" she screamed back into his face.

He looked befuddled. "You're what?" Sled craned his head around and saw a stack of luggage piled high. "Is that all yours?"

"Yes it is, Sled," she cooed. "I know now that I was being selfish. I wanted to live a fantasy, but I wanted my boyfriend to be a fantasy, too. That was wrong. I have to accept you for who you are. And when I stepped back to see the real you, not the fantasy you, I couldn't believe my eyes. You were everything I ever wanted. I was just too stupid to see it. Please take me with you. Please marry me."

Sled was concerned at first, but as she spoke he heard not contempt, nor deception, but sincerity. Full throated sincerity like he had never known since she first agreed to marry him that winsome evening. His winter heart melted and he grabbed her into his big arms.

"Ooh," she giggled. Then he kissed her so hard she thought her boots were going to fly off. "OH MY!"

He warned her about the cold weather environment the winter fairies were heading towards. She would need to wear warm clothing at all times and protect her wings constantly. Sled also would not be able to provide Rosetta with a proper honeymoon until after the winter fairies had settled in and were functional. Which could be months. Rosetta didn't care, she would lose both of her wings and wait an eternity for him if need be. With that, he scooped her up in his arms and the two sought out The Keeper of All Fairy Knowledge to perform a wedding ceremony.

After the abbreviated ceremony was ended and the Keeper declared them man and wife, he said they could take ten minutes to kiss and hug before getting back to work. But when he saw how much they looked ever so longingly into each other's eyes, he changed his mind. "Eh, go ahead and take twenty minutes, instead."

"Twenty minutes enough for you, Ro?"

"It will feel like twenty years of ecstasy as long as it's with you, Sugarpie" she told him. The two promptly found a closet and locked the door behind them.

The Keeper laughed. "Ha, lovebirds."

* * *

**I do hope this chapter is as interesting and enjoyable as the others. Thank you for reading and please leave a review.**

**Scorecard**

**Sean Herman = Prince Thomas**

**Sean's Father = The King, Thomas' Father**

**Leroy = Grumpy**

**Marco = Geppetto**

**Ruby = Red Riding Hood**


	24. Chapter 24

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon a Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 4, Chapter 8**

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Cinderella waited in the gardens, her belly swollen with her child. She didn't have to wait long for Rumpelstiltskin to show up. He was taking a nip of something when he made his presence known. Ella told him she wanted to alter their bargain, but Rumpelstiltskin reminded her that he didn't do that. A contract is a contract.

"I think you'll want to," she told the imp. "I'm having twins."

Surprised by this development, he tossed his glass aside and touched her belly. "Oooooh," he said gleefully at the prospect of another child he could take.

Ella told him that massive crop failings caused by poor soil and little water left her kingdom desperate, hungry and poor. She was willing to offer the other child if he could make the soil fertile again. All he had to do was sign his name to a new contract she provided for him.

"And you would give up your second child for… comfort?" he asked her.

"We can have more children, but one cannot grow crops when the soil is dead." She then produced the red quill for him to sign.

"What a lovely quill," he said, almost as if he knew. He warned her not to deceive him. She assured him that everything was proper. "Now do you want my child or not?"

"YES!" he said greedily. Rumpelstiltskin took the quill and signed his name to the contract. The moment he did he was enveloped in fairy magic that paralyzed him. He could not use his own dark magic to escape and was trapped.

"No one breaks deals with me dearie," he warned her. No matter how long it took, no matter what realm she went to he would find a way to get that baby from her. Prince Thomas and his men quickly appeared from their hiding places and locked up the imp in shackles that kept him from using his magic. He was put into a cart to be removed to his new prison.

Cinderella was relieved that her ordeal was over. He consoled her.

"How is our little Alexandria?" he asked, his palm lovingly placed across her belly. He had already selected a possible name for the baby.

"Alexandria? That sounds more like a prison sentence than a name," she joked. Then she started to feel poorly. Thomas went to the well to fetch water. While at the well, Thomas heard some rustling and thought it was Cinderella.

Moments later, Ella's sick feeling went away and she called out to Thomas. He did not answer. She went looking for him at the well, but he was not there. She recalled his statement that if there was a price to pay he would pay it for her. Cinderella went to Rumpelstiltskin who was now loaded into the cart. She asked him where Thomas was. The dark imp reminded her that he was chained and powerless now. Yet he indicated that he was involved in his disappearance by telling her that Cinderella would never see Thomas again until her debt was paid.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma drove with abandon back towards Storybrooke. Ashley, however, wanted to be taken to Boston, but her contractions were coming faster and stronger.

"Oh no, we don't have four hours to go to Boston," Emma reminded the pregnant woman. The only hospital close enough was Storybrooke General. Even if meant Mr. Gold would be waiting for them there.

During the drive Ashley maintained that she didn't want to give up her baby. Not to Mr. Gold or Mitchell Herman or anyone. She was going to keep it. Emma believed that Ashley should be allowed to keep the baby. She was an adult and could make those decisions as an adult, no matter what others thought of her. But she explained to Ashley that babies were enormous responsibilities and that one had to be prepared to take on such a massive undertaking.

She told the pregnant girl how she wasn't ready for a child at eighteen and had to give hers away. Henry, who was in the backseat, knew he was that baby she had given up for adoption. While it hurt to hear that his mother didn't think she was ready, he took comfort in knowing that it was done so he could have the best chance at a good life.

Emma emphasized that once Ashley decided to keep the baby she had to honor that commitment, because running away was no longer an option.

Ashley said she was ready and willing for the difficult task and reiterated, through the clenched teeth of another contraction, that she wanted to keep her child.

**~O~**

When Ashley arrived at the hospital she was whisked away by the staff into the maternity ward. There the woman was met by her OB/GYN, Doctor Odessa del Sol. Odessa was an African American woman of thirty years. She seemed young, but was a highly qualified and respected member of the medical community. Dr. del Sol made sure the birth was as easy as possible for the young woman.

**~O~**

"Thank you for bringing me my merchandise," Mr. Gold told Emma.

"A baby is your merchandise?" she questioned him. Emma tells Mr. Gold that Ashley wants to keep the baby and has every right to do so. Gold reminds Emma that Ashley is under contract. He tells her that contracts are the foundation of all civilized societies, from simple lease agreements to national constitutions, contracts prevent chaos. While technically correct, Emma disliked his application of a contract and tells Gold that no jury in the world would convict a mother who wanted to keep her child, no matter what she signed. She even goes so far as to threaten Gold with a legal investigation. "I think there is more to you than just a simple pawn broker," she tells him point black.

Mr. Gold was impressed by Emma's strength of character and iron will. Everyone in town was rightfully afraid of him, but Emma was proving to be a formidable opponent. She wasn't apprehensive in her courage, Emma went toe to toe with him and showed absolutely no fear. However, Mr. Gold was anything if not resourceful. He offered an exchange. Ashley could keep the baby if Emma owed him a favor. To protect the girl and her infant, Emma agreed, though Emma had the feeling she would regret it later.

**~O~**

In the nursery, Sean arrives to greet his newborn daughter. Ashley has named her Alexandria. Sean had made the difficult decision to deny his father and his money to support his girlfriend and baby girl. He knew it would be difficult, but it was a decision he was willing to live with if it meant taking care of the two most important women in his life: Ashley and Alexandria.

**~O~**

In another part of town, Mayor Mills is zipping up her black dress. She is in someone's apartment, the bedroom, in fact. That person is in the shower. "Don't forget, your socks are under the bed. See you next Saturday for another Council Meeting?'" she tells that person with a delicious smile on her face.

**~O~**

Emma races Henry home so he can be there before his mother shows up. He is deposited at the house moments before Regina arrives. Henry races up the stairs to his room; one of his shoes falls off and sits on a stair. He dives into his room, removes a textbook from his book bag and pretends to be studying on his bed. His mother calls out his name angrily.

"HENRY! Henry, how many times have I told you not to leave your shoes on the stairs," Regina tells him, bringing him his lost sneaker. "Someone could get hurt."

She suspected nothing.

**~O~**

The person in the apartment reaches under the bed for the socks. As he is putting them on, Sheriff Graham receives a phone call. "Graham? It's Emma. It's time I put down some roots. I'll take that job."

**~O~**

Valerie said very little at first. She didn't want to talk to this guy. He was a dork. He even dressed like a dork. But worst of all, he was being paid by her mother to do her bidding. Valerie supposed he might brainwash her into just getting along with everyone around her. No original thought in her virginal little head. Just like that cute as apple pie little sister of hers.

Claire and Tina were off mowing a couple lawns. Jobs her mother was able to line up at the last second before the sun went down today. After losing the renovation house Valerie knew that they were going to struggle. She almost felt sorry for her mother. Then that wicked witch dropped her here to chat with Dr. Archie Hopper. He probably graduated first in his class at Nerd U., where everyone received a tiny diploma you wore on the bridge of your glasses.

"It's okay if you feel uncomfortable the first day," he tells her. "It happens quite a bit. You don't know me, you don't trust me. I can be intimidating."

"Intimidating? HA!" she said to him. "You look like you're on your way to a _Star Trek_ convention. Or maybe _Star Wars_. Either way, they're both for weirdoes with too much time on their hands."

"I see," Archie responded. His voice was kind and soft. He tried his best to be a comfortable and soothing presence. "Well that's a good start. I know what you think of me. What about your mother? What do you think of her? She thinks you hate her. That can't be true."

She laughed again. "You don't know my mother very well. She is an evil woman."

"How would you characterize evil?"

"She dropped me here, didn't she?"

"You're here because she cares about you," Archie told Valerie.

"Puh-lease! She only cares about her daughter," Valerie spat.

"You are her daughter," Archie reminded her.

"No, I'm adopted. Tina is her daughter, her one and only. I'm here so I'll learn to step in line and be just like that sickeningly sweet little girl of hers. All sugar and spice and everything nice."

"Is that it? You think she brought you here to force you to change? That's not true, Valerie. Your mother wants you here so _she_ can change. To find out what she has done to make you so angry with her and be a better mom. Isn't that what you want?"

"Wait a minute, you can't tell her anything. I watch TV, I know all about doctor / patient confidentiality."

"She didn't tell you? Oh, well, this is family therapy. You talk to me with your concerns, then she talks to me with her concerns and then you both talk with me and to each other to work out your problems."

"That's not how they do it on _Frasier_."

"That's just a TV show. Valerie, this is so you can talk freely without your mother hovering over you. I don't want you to feel judged. Wouldn't it be nice to get along with your mother? Not because she orders you, but because she understands you? That is your biggest complaint, isn't it? She doesn't understand you?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"Good, good. Well, then, let's get started."

"How do I know you're not just saying that to make me talk?"

"Tell you what. Let's do a few round of sessions. If you don't see a change in her and if you still think I'm just her well paid pawn then we'll stop. I won't force the issue. I won't even let your mother bring you into my office. Deal?"

Valerie quirked a suspicious eyebrow at him. "Okay, anything to show that woman up."

"Good, now where do you want to begin?"

* * *

**Whew, okay, this wraps up Episode 4. I do hope you've enjoyed this so far. Thank you for reading and please leave a review.**

**(Okay, when it comes to family therapy, I have no idea if that is how it works under any circumstances, but honestly that is how I would want it to be conducted for me.)**

**Scorecard:**

**Dr. Odessa del Sol = Iridessa **

**Note: del sol is Spanish for "of the sun." Odessa is Greek for "odyssey."**


	25. Chapter 25

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 1**

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

A traveling group of entertainers operating under the name of Martin and Myrna's Marvelous Marionettes were putting on a show for the village locals. Using a covered wagon that converted into a stage, the audience stood around wagon to watch.

While the story plays out on the miniature stage, a comedy about a knight rescuing a princess from a dragon, the audience members are kept entertained and distracted. Distracted enough that they do not notice a young boy slipping his way into the crowd where he is quietly slitting purses, picking pockets and cutting into handbags thus relieving them of their gold, jewels and other personal belongings. When finished he silently slips into the wagon unseen.

The show was all part of a con. His parents, who run the show, are thieves, sleight of hand magicians and con artists. After leaving the village behind the trio stops to count their ill-gotten gains. The redheaded, freckle-faced boy, Jiminy, finds a cricket held in a tiny, wooden cage in the stash of stolen goods. He admires the creature because crickets are free to roam. Jiminy yearns to be free from his parent's unconscionable influences. He doesn't like to steal, he wants to be good.

"Good is another word for weak," his father instructs him.

"You are free," his mother says, "free to do what we want."

"You are who you are and there's no changing it, Jiminy," his father tells him. A mantra to keep him under their control. The boy feels trapped.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

In Doctor Hopper's office, Archie is having an evening session with Henry.

"Were you always a cricket?" Henry asks him. Archie wanted to know why he thought that. Henry replied it was because he was a conscience. As a psychologist, Archibald Hopper helped others to understand right from wrong and act appropriately.

"So all the crickets in Storybrooke, they were people, too?" the good doctor asked.

Henry noted that he has never heard any crickets in Storybrooke and that Archie had simply never noticed. Archie asked if that was proof of his curse theory. Henry said it was, but he would look for more evidence.

"I asked you this before and you said you think about it. Why do you think it's so important that this is real?"

"It…, it just is," the boy replied.

"Keep thinking about that, Henry, I think there is something buried there."

**~O~**

In another part of town, Emma was at the Sheriff's Office to be formally deputized. But there were conditions. Graham presented her with a deputy's uniform which included pants, a shirt and a tie.

"Really? You know you don't have to dress a woman in a tie to give her authority," she told Graham. He asked to at least wear the badge, to make it official.

**~O~**

Claire was reading a bedtime story to her youngest. It concerned a heroic, old knight who rescued a beautiful, young princess from a fearsome dragon that had plagued her for a long time. She fell in love with him and him with her. But soon they discovered that love was not enough. Their ages were too different and they had so little in common. Her land was far away and she was of a different culture than his. As hard as they tried to be what the other needed, it wasn't enough.

Painful as it was, they had to go their separate ways. The lovely princess eventually found new love, married him and together they lived happily ever after. The foolish, old knight, however, lived the rest of his life lonely and heartbroken, holding tight to the memories of the young princess. Upon his deathbed he understood the folly of his actions and uttered these final words, _How poorly I have lived, that I never made room in my heart to love another._

"The end."

"That's it?" Tina barked. "What a terrible story, Mom. What are you trying to do? Give me nightmares?"

"Oh no, dear," Claire laughed. "Nothing like that."

"But what about true love? Why wasn't that enough?"

"Sweetie, sometimes true love means letting go," Claire explained. "The foolish knight didn't understand that. It's why he died a lonely man."

"Hmph, if that had been a Disney movie true love would have conquered all," Tina said while crossing her arms.

Claire smiled. "Sweetheart, loss is a part of life. We can't cripple ourselves by holding on to what we can no longer have. We miss other opportunities for happiness. Now get some sleep, Tina." She leaned over and kissed her dear child on the forehead. "Goodnight."

Exiting the bedroom, Claire gently closed the door behind her. She went to the next bedroom, which was Valerie's and went inside, knocking quietly before entering. Val was sitting on her bed and watching television.

Before she could say anything, the house shook so violently Claire thought it was going to fall down around them. Then, just as suddenly, it stopped.

"What is that an earthquake?" Val yelled.

**~O~**

The instant Emma Swan tucked the deputy badge onto her belt, a violent explosion rocked the office and the entire town. The phones in the sheriff's office quickly started to ring. With no answers to offer the townspeople, Emma and Graham went outside to learn what had happened. In the distance they spotted a plume of smoke rising from the ground.

"There, let's go," Graham instructed his new deputy.

The column of smoke was coming from a wooded area just outside of town. When the sheriff and deputy arrived several townspeople had already gathered. The fire department was already on scene. Claire, with her two daughters, the youngest still in sleep pants and wearing a jacket, looked at the source of the violent shock wave. "What is that?" Claire asked Marco.

"Is that a crater?" Ruby added.

"No, its tunnels, a mine, it must have collapsed," he replied with his imperfect English and strong accent.

The mayor arrived and immediately began giving orders to Graham to keep everyone back. She then told Emma that this was town business and she could leave. When Ms. Swan told the mayor she now worked for the town as the new deputy, Regina put her to work.

Dr. Hopper and Henry arrived just in time to hear Mayor Mills give a little speech. She told everyone that it was one of several mines in the area and that she intended to make the area safe by filling it in and paving it over.

Henry was horrified. He thought she was trying to cover something up. He sensed that something important was down there and someone had to investigate. Regina, however, was not happy with his response and told him to wait in her car.

Regina then noticed a small piece of what looked like glass. It looked familiar to her and she put the debris in her coat pocket.

"What was that?" Henry asked Emma. Regina, however, did not want him near the collapsed tunnel, she insisted he go to the car. Moments later, though, Henry called a meeting of "Operation Cobra" with Emma and Archie. He told them something had to be down there.

"It's just a bunch of old tunnels," Emma told him.

"That just happened to collapse right after you got here?" he told her. "You're changing things, you're weakening the curse."

Emma denied it, but Henry told her it was so. "Did you do anything different today? Because something made this happen."

She fingered the deputy badge that hung from her belt. The tunnel collapse occurred at the _exact_ moment when she slipped that badge on. Suddenly she was having doubts about her conviction.

Regina was furious that Henry had disobeyed her a third time. In short order, she put Henry back in the car, put Emma back to work running police tape around the area and pulled Dr. Hopper aside to dress him down. She was getting frustrated that Henry thought everything she was doing was all part of some grand conspiracy. Regina wanted a change in treatment to bring Henry back to reality.

Dr. Hopper didn't think it was appropriate to shatter his worldview that way. Regina, however, wasn't interested in his opinions, only his obedience. She reminded him that he worked for her.

"This is my town and you will lose everything." If Archie failed she would leave him with nothing more than his umbrella for a roof over his head.

"What would you have me do?" he asked her.

"I want you to take that delusion out of his head and you crush it!" she answered.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Jiminy, now a young man, and his parents pulled into an open air market where tents and tables were set up. His parents sized up the people and felt they had a little more money this year.

"You can tell by all the fat people," Martin said. Being overweight was a sign of prosperity in those days. It meant you had enough money to buy more food than you needed. Jiminy's mother and father decided to run the Elf Tonic scam on some poor, unsuspecting sucker.

Jiminy hated the idea. He was sick of stealing and wanted to go straight. Their travelling show earned more than enough money. But his parents justified their actions by telling him, "We steal from them, they steal from someone else. It's called an economy."

Their gross misinterpretation of an economy notwithstanding, Jiminy knew it was wrong and wanted to get out of the family business. But his parents used their typical ploys to keep him by making up complaints about pains and burning sensations. They had no conscience, but they knew he did and made good use of it to their own advantage. Essentially, they were scamming their own son and Martin and Myrna were enjoying every minute of it.

**~O~**

Jiminy was setting up the wagon when it started raining. A young boy came bounding up to him yelling "puppets!" He was very excited to see the show. The tyke, who wore a feathered hat and was holding an umbrella to keep off the rain, could see that Jiminy wasn't as excited about it. Every year it was the same shows and the same fairgrounds.

"Why don't you leave?" the boy asked.

After thinking about the answer Jiminy replied, "It's just who I am."

The boy just stood there. "Are you going to just stand there and watch me setup?" Jiminy asked him. The youngster replied that he also came to listen to the crickets. Jiminy hadn't taken the time to listen to the crickets in a good while. He visibly regretted it. Jiminy had become so wound up in his own emotions. Torn between his desire to escape his parents' influences and the weaknesses that kept him where he was.

Jiminy told the boy he should go home because he would get wet. The boy responded by giving Jiminy his umbrella to stay dry while he setup. An act of kindness that resonated quite deeply with Jiminy.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Early the next morning, the collapsed tunnel was the talk of the town. Desiree and her co-host, Cleo, an intelligent and talkative young woman with a fidgety laugh and short hair, kept the townspeople entertained with jokes and other nonsense about the mine collapse.

"You know what they say, Cleo," Desiree said.

"No, what do they say, Dee?"

"A mine is terrible thing to waste," she replied.

"Oooh, that was bad," Cleo said.

The audience seemed to agree as they booed the lame pun. Then Desiree used one of Johnny Carson's old comeback lines, albeit altered for the region. "Hmph. Well I hope you all find the toothbrushes of the entire New England Patriot's offensive line in your daughter's bathrooms tomorrow morning."

The audience snickered in response to that line. Those who remembered Johnny Carson cackled knowingly.

"Serves you right," she added.

**~O~**

"Ugh, that woman is such an airhead," Claire told her two girls who were at the breakfast table with her. They had been watching the show more intently today as Desiree and Cleo reported what little new information they had about the mine collapse. Though most of what they were saying was pure fluff.

Valerie seemed deep in a thought for a second before saying, "I wonder what would be more fun? One at a time? Or all at once?"

"Stop it!" Claire demanded. "You stop that right now and get those dirty thoughts out of your head, young lady."

"I wouldn't actually do it, I'm just asking a question," Val replied.

"Well, it's a nasty thing to think about," Claire answered. "Now eat your breakfast, we have a lot of work to do today."

After a brief pause Tina suddenly announced, "I think Valerie watches porn."

"I DO NOT WATCH PORN, YOU LITTLE MAGGOT!" Valerie yelled as she grabbed her younger sister and started punching her.

"OW! OW! MOM, SHE'S HITTING ME!" Tina yelled, looking for sympathy.

"THAT'S ENOUGH OUT OF BOTH YOU!" Claire screamed at them. She slammed the table with her fists and stood up as she shouted. It brought both girls a stop, with looks of complete terror on their faces.

"…oh crap," Val whimpered.

"…ditto," Tina mumbled back.

The two girls were so scared that they were actually holding on to each other for support and solidarity.

"You two stop acting like children and start acting like young ladies," Claire bellowed. "But if you insist on acting like children, then fine. Tina, you eat over there," she said pointing to one of the table. "Valerie, you eat over there," Claire added, pointing to the end of the table. "And I do not want to hear another peep out of either one of you!"

Mrs. Kensington sat back down to finish her breakfast. Outwardly she was furious at them. Inwardly she was relieved. For the first time in weeks Tina and Valerie were acting like sisters again.

Sisters who wanted to kill each other every chance they got, but at least it was progress.

**~O~**

At around lunchtime, Marco came to visit his best friend, Archie. They were to have lunch together, but Archie had to turn him down. Dr. Hopper was seeing a patient today. His patient was Henry. "Have a good session, my boy," Marco told him with a smile.

"Are you recruiting Geppetto for Operation Cobra?" Henry asked. Henry believed that since Geppetto and Jiminy Cricket were best of friends and he and Marco were best of friends, that Marco had to be Geppetto.

Archie was conflicted. He had to do what Regina told him, but he knew it would do harm to Henry which was against his ethics. Henry though, kept talking about the curse. Emma was here now and suddenly things were changing. He even showed Archie his backpack filled with candy bars and a flashlight. He was going to get more evidence by going down into the collapsed tunnel. Archie became frightened for the boy. He told him that he had to stop believing in this delusion. Something that was not real. Archie thought he might have outgrown this by now, but it was becoming a psychosis and that Henry would be put in the hospital if this nonsense didn't come to an end and soon.

Henry started to cry, he was so devastated that one of the persons had trusted had stopped believing in him and was now trying to convince him that this was all a fantasy. He ran out of the office, upset and made his way to Mary Margaret's place…, and Emma.

* * *

**For Amanda (I Luv Milarion 1201)**

**Thank you for reading, please leave a review. Sorry it took a while, I lost my enthusiasm after I heard about I Luv Milarion 1201. She always brightened my day. She brightened everyone's day. I hope she can come back soon.**

**Scorecard: **

**Cleo = Chloe (A Garden Fairy)**

**Dr. Archie Hopper = Jiminy**

**Note: At the end of Episode 5, I will be moving this story to the crossover section (Tinker Bell / Once Upon A Time).**


	26. Chapter 26

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 2**

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Victorian Era on the Mainland)

Tinker Bell and her new found sister, Periwinkle, hugged at the border for the last time. When Tink visited the border between the warm and cold seasons earlier her wings lit up, they sparkled. Tink being Tink, she had to investigate. Tinkering a cold weather coat and hitching a ride in one of the woven baskets her guild mates made for the Winter Fairies, she made her way into the forbidden realm of the Winter Woods.

Warm fairies were not allowed in the Winter Woods because their wings would freeze solid and break. But she needed to know why her wings sparkled, so tucking them into her coat she was going on another mad adventure. It was here that Tink learned she had a sister named Periwinkle, a frost talent fairy.

Like Tink, Peri was just as adventurous and wanted to visit the warm seasons. So upon returning she and her friends designed and built a snow making machine to keep Periwinkle cool. The tour of the Autumn Forest went great, but in the Summer Glade things turned badly. The machine was running out of the ice needed to make the snow. Periwinkle could not tolerate the heat and her wings began to wilt. Tinker Bell and her girlfriends rushed to get Peri back across the border before her wings broke. They made it, but not before earning the ire of Milori, the Lord of Winter.

"This is why we do not cross the border," he told them harshly. But Tinker Bell would not be denied. She adamantly refused to obey Lord Milori's rule.

"It's not Milori's rule, Tinker Bell," came a soft voice from behind her. "It is mine."

When Tink and her friends turned around they saw the beautiful ruler of all Pixie Hollow, Queen Clarion approaching them. She had been told of the border crossing by one of the scouts. Now came to the border to set things straight with her headstrong tinker fairy. It was made very clear that under no circumstances were Tink and Peri ever to see each other again. It was too dangerous. This was when the two sisters embraced one last time. Both thought that their respective leaders were heartless for not letting them see each other ever again, but they each kept their thoughts to themselves.

When Milori and Clarion were left alone at the border they looked across the divide and all their old memories came flooding back. The heartbreak that each had been able to suppress with time came roaring back with a vengeance. That last moment at the border that they had shared was nearly identical to what happened just now between Tinker Bell and Periwinkle. It was like re-living a painful memory in full detail. Now their hearts broke because two others had been hurt.

After sharing that brief look which spoke volumes about their past and their everlasting pain, the two monarchs turned and went their separate ways. Clarion had to stop and hide in the trees where she wept uncontrollably. After knocking the snow making machine into the river that separated the warm and cold seasons, Milori kept flying on his owl. But he couldn't hold back his tears, either. He kept flying and circling until he was able to compose himself again.

_"I have some bad news, everyone," _he remembers telling his winter fairies centuries ago_. _

_"In a terrible tragedy one of our own has crossed the border and broken a wing."_

_The assembled winter fairies gasped. "I will not say who. That person is not even in the room right now. However, the queen has passed down a decree. From this day forward no fairy, warm or winter, is allowed to cross the border."_

_Murmurs and shocked grumblings filled the hall. "We can still meet at the border, right?" someone asked._

_"I'm sorry, part of that decree is that there will no longer be any face to face contact between the two sides of Pixie Hollow."_

_This led to an uproar. "She can't do that!" someone yelled._

_"I have friends over there," another complained._

_"What about our guilds? How will we communicate?" someone else asked._

_"This is absolute," Milori told them. "No one, not even the queen nor myself, can violate this new law. Methods of communications will be restricted. No personal letters or other similar contact will be tolerated. Only communiqués of an official nature will be allowed."_

_"We won't stand for this!" someone shouted from the crowd._

_"You have no choice," was his firm reply. "Now please go. We will allow one last assembly at the border for friends and guild mates to say goodbye. After that, there will be no further contact."_

_The unhappy crowd dispersed, but Milori already heard dissention among his people. Talks of insurrection abounded, but nothing would ever come of it._

_Dewey, the Keeper of All Fairy Knowledge and Lord Milori's closest friend flitted up to him. "I noticed that you're wearing a cape, there, Lord Milori."_

_"What's your point, Keeper?"_

_"Well, you've never worn a cape before," Dewey answered. "Might I presume that you are the one who broke a wing?"_

_"Keeper, you and I know each other well, but today you presume too much," Milori snapped._

Lord Milori always regretted being so cross with his friend that day.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Mary Margaret was visiting David Nolan in the hospital. He was still recovering from his ordeal at the old Toll Bridge. The two were playing Hangman, wherein the player tried to guess the letters in a word before a stick figure drawing was completed hanging from a gallows. Each missed letter added an appendage. As it turned out, the word was Mary Margaret's own name. David, though admitted he would never have let her hang. "I would have added fingers, toes, maybe a horse."

David was still having problems remembering anything from before his accident, a form of amnesia known as retrograde amnesia. He was, however, making new memories just fine. "Maybe I like the new memories better," he told Mary Margaret. She smiled, David was so sweet to her. She kept falling for him. Yet she knew he was married, a matter of which she was reminded when Kathryn arrived.

**~O~**

Tina didn't go and work with her mother and sister today. She told Claire that there was an important test upcoming and she needed to study. Her study partner was Clarence, the mail carrier who had graduated last year.

"He already knows this stuff so he can help me study," she explained.

Claire agreed and dropped her off at the playground so they could study at one of the park benches. "I'll be back at four." Claire said. She then gave Tina ten dollars to eat if she got hungry.

"Thanks, Mom," Tina replied. She met up with Clarence and sat down to study with him. When Claire's truck was out of view, she quickly leapt from the table. "C'mon, let's go."

Clarence got up with her. They had planned this from the start. Both got into his Aztek and drove out of town into a wooded area far away from the road so they wouldn't be seen. Clarence setup the tent over the lift gate. Both climbed into the back, where the seats had been lowered flat. Clarence unrolled a blanket.

Soon, the windows of the Aztek were fogged up. Clarence and Tina were engaged in a serious make out session. Her jacket and shirt were off, leaving only her brassiere. He was completely topless. Clarence had made a hickey, or love bite, on her shoulder. If it had been on her neck, Claire would have seen it. This wasn't the first time they had slipped away to make out, but it was the first time they had been so intimate.

**~O~**

Mary Margaret went home and shared some Smores with Emma. She talked to Emma about why she kept feeling this way about David. And how Kathryn was so nice that she couldn't dislike the woman.

Emma advised Mary Margaret to just let it go. Falling in love with a married man would only lead to heartbreak. There were gentle taps at the door. When Emma answered she found Henry standing in the hall, crying.

**~O~**

Tina laid across Clarence's bare chest, their intense make out session having finally ended. She was very happy. Clarence kissed her temple lovingly. She looked up at him. "Clarence, can you do something for me?" she asked.

"Yeah, sure what is it?" he replied.

"That mine collapse last night got me thinking," she said. "I want to start living my life sooner than later. I mean who knows what will happen next? Right?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I'm glad you agree. Clarence, I want my first adventure to be with you."

"Sounds great, what is it?

"Will you be my first?"

"First what?"

"My first lover?"

Clarence nearly swallowed his own tongue. "What?"

"Yeah, I want my first adventure to be my first time."

"Tina, you're only sixteen, I could go to jail! I would go to jail!"

"No you won't," she told him. "I checked, the minimum age of consent in Maine is sixteen. You're safe, besides, I want it to happen on my birthday. You're present to me."

"Whoa now, Tina. I'll gladly make out with you, but sex is a completely different matter. We're both too young."

"No were not."

"Besides, what would your mother think?"

"She is never going to find out, and you aren't going to tell her. Right?" she said holding a fist to his face.

"My lips are sealed," he said.

She kissed him lightly. "Good answer."

Clarence was silent for a moment. He was thinking of a way to get out of this bad situation without hurting her feelings. "Well what if you get pregnant?"

"From one time? Not going to happen," she said.

"Well, maybe we should, y'know, use something," he suggested.

"Not on your life. I want my first time to be completely natural," she said. "Nothing is going to get in the way."

"I just don't know, Tina. It's all too risky."

"Look, I'm going to do this with or without you," she yelled. "If you aren't willing to be my first time, then I'll ask someone else. Like Blake. He likes me."

"Blake? The garbage collector? You barely know him?"

"I know he likes me," she replied.

"How do you know that?"

"He gives me that look every morning he passes by the house."

"Are you sure that's not just some horny guy who wants to bed a sixteen year old girl?"

"If he wants me, he can have me!"

Clarence felt backed into a corner. He liked this girl, cared about her and maybe even loved her. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Tina. But he wasn't sure if he loved her enough for sex. The problem was if she ran off to do this with someone else she might get hurt. What if she changed her mind and he didn't. She could be permanently traumatized from that.

He certainly couldn't go to her mother and tell her what they had been doing. She would get in trouble, but if his supervisor found out, Gerald might fire him. A nineteen year old man running around on the sly with a sixteen year old girl and having make out sessions. It wouldn't take much for rumors of sexual escapades to start running through this town. Misty, the manager of the Fish and Chips restaurant, loved juicy gossip and she couldn't keep her mouth shut if her life depended on it. That scandal enough would get him canned from his good job.

_Oh why didn't I see this coming?_ Clarence asked himself. There was only one solution that would keep their secret and prevent Tina from being harmed by another person.

"Okay, I'll do it."

**~O~**

Emma came barging into the office of Archie Hopper. He was sitting on his couch, taking a drink with Pongo at his side. Emma yelled at him for trying to crush Henry's fantasy world.

"If the therapy isn't working, it has to be adjusted," he tried to explain, but Emma kept yelling.

"Was it Regina? What did she say that could make you ignore your ethics?" she asked. He tried to respond, but her cell phone rang.

"Is he with you," Mayor Mills bellowed angrily into the receiver.

"Yes, Doctor Hopper is here and you left your fingerprints all over him," Emma replied defiantly.

"Not him, my son."

"I left him at your office an hour ago."

That's when Archie realized where Henry had gone. Emma and Archie raced to the collapsed mine. At first they tried looking for Henry near the opening. Archie spotted a candy bar on the ground at the mouth of the tunnel. Henry had gone inside.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Jiminy had come to Rumpelstiltskin's castle. He brought a small bag of items he had stolen along with the names of their owners. Jiminy took payment in gold chain that Rumpelstiltskin had spun from straw. But the meek man wanted something else. He wanted to get away from his parents. So Rumpel offered him a deal. The Dark One would provide Jiminy with the means of escape. A vial with a potion that would give him his freedom. But Jiminy always the thoughtful one wanted to know what would become of his parents afterwards.

"Leave them where they are and I'll come collect," Rumpelstiltskin told him. "It will be my fee. Worry not, they'll be fine."

It was all the reassurance Jiminy needed. He took the vial and went back to his parents. Yet he was still conflicted. His conscience kept him from doing something he thought might be wrong.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Archie, feeling responsible for driving the boy into the mine, went inside after him. "Henry!" he called out to the boy. After taking a few steps, though, the roof began to collapse and Archie was forced deeper into the mine. He found Henry and told him to leave with him.

"You still don't believe me," Henry complained.

It wasn't about what Archie believed anymore, it was that Henry was in danger. But Henry wouldn't listen and was determined to find his proof. He ran deeper into the mine to look for it.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Martin and Myrna had found a young couple they thought could be conned. They decided to use the Elf Tonic scam on them. Jiminy didn't want to do that. He felt badly, but his parents' influence was too strong.

The Elf Tonic scam was a simple one, convince a gullible mark that plague was coming and that the only way to protect themselves was with Elf Tonic. After suitably frightening the victim they would offer their sole bottle of tonic in exchange for just about everything their target owned. In this case, the young couple was taken for every valuable possession in their modest home. The "tonic" was little more than rain water, the "plague" never existed. Of course, by the time it was discovered that it was all a sham, Martin and Myrna would be long gone.

But Jiminy couldn't let it go this time. "Those were good people," he told his parents. "They would never hurt us."

"That's where they went wrong," Martin told him with a smile. "Better to be people who take."

"Then be those who get taken from," Myrna finished.

That was all he tolerate. Jiminy's frustration and hatred for his parents' selfishness and greed made him take action.

"I'm sorry," he told them. "You've given me no other choice." He grabbed the bottle from around his neck, the one Rumpelstiltskin gave him, and threw the contents at his mother and father.

Nothing happened.

They just smiled. Martin had done some sleight of hand and switched the bottle with the rainwater bottle used in their scam. As con artists, Martin and Myrna had become extremely perceptive. They noticed the new bottle hanging around Jiminy's neck and drew conclusions. So when Jiminy was asleep, they made the switch.

Jiminy's heart sank. He had given Rumpelstiltskin's potion to that young couple. Upon his realization he ran back to the cottage hoping to stop them. Martin and Myrna, on the other hand, just laughed at their own cleverness. They didn't care who got hurt, just as long as it wasn't them.

When Jiminy opened the door, he found he was too late. They young man and woman had already taken the potion. It had turned them into marionette puppets. A male and a female that looked as if shock or terror was permanently carved into their faces. The hand of one puppet was gripping the hand of the other, two lovers permanently trapped in wood.

He had hurt innocent bystanders. Killed them perhaps because he sought freedom, or vengeance. If he hadn't wanted to be rid of his parents so badly they would have been spared this horrible fate.

"Oh look, more puppets for the act," Myrna said happily, not caring that this was once a human being just seconds ago.

"Momma! Poppa!" The voice came from a familiar young person. The same little boy who gave Jiminy the umbrella ran into the cottage. This nice, young couple were his parents. "What have you done to my Momma and Poppa?" he yelled at Jiminy.

He couldn't stand himself anymore. Jiminy had just wanted to be rid of his parents and their scheming ways. Now he had ended the lives of two innocents and left their child an orphan. He was sick to his stomach with regret.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Victorian Era on the Mainland)

When Lord Milori used his owl to knock the snow maker into the river he didn't stay to watch it float away. Instead, he went deeper in the Winter Woods to escape the renewed pain he was feeling. If he had stayed, Milori would have seen that the machine didn't float harmlessly away. Instead, it became entangled in roots at the edge of a waterfall.

The river that separated the warm from the cold seasons was fluid on the warm side and iced over on the cold side. Where the two met, ice would break off and flow downstream. Now that same ice was falling into the snow maker while the water rushing over the falls was powering the device. So much ice was being shaved into snow that it created a whirling frozen cloud.

This whirling cloud grew until it began to throw off the delicate balance between the Winter Woods and the three warmer seasons. Soon, cold was pushing its way into the Autumn Forest and freezing over trees that were always colored in bright reds, yellows and oranges.

Tinker Bell was in the Queen's private library listening as Clarion told her the story of how two fairies met at the border and fell in love. One of them crossed the border and broke a wing.

"What happened to them?" Tinker Bell asked.

"They had to say goodbye," Clarion replied.

A second later, a depressed Tinker Bell was greeted with snow. The seasons were out of balance. Although the snow maker had been jettisoned from its improper perch Tink's friends, the damage had been done. Pixie Hollow was going to freeze. If the Pixie Dust Tree did not survive, then no pixie dust would be produced and no fairy would ever fly again.

* * *

**Another chapter. I just think more about Amanda and I can write. I think she is my muse. Enjoy, please leave a review.**

**Scorecard:**

**Blake = ? (A pleasant surprise)**

**Gerald = Fairy Gary**


	27. Chapter 27

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon a Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 3**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Once Clarence pulled down the tent and secured it, he and Tina drove back to the playground. There they sat in the backseat doing actual studying. Her upcoming test had, in fact, already passed. Her grade was an "A" as usual. But she knew to keep her grades that high she couldn't stop doing what got her that "A". Her attraction to Clarence, however, was so strong she couldn't deny herself any longer. That was why they had been making out.

"Tina," he asked her. "I'm not changing my mind, but why are you doing this? Why do you want to have sex so soon?"

"I told you, I want to live my life sooner than later," she replied.

"I think there is something else going on in your life," he said. "You can trust me."

Tina sighed. "I hate living with my sister," she said. "After Dad died she started changing, acting more and more nuts. My mother latched on to me to be her anchor. To keep her stable when everything else around her was falling down."

"Well that's a good thing. She depends on you. I don't understand why…?"

"My mother doesn't want to let me grow up," she finally admitted. "In her eyes I'll always be that sweet little girl who used to say 'I wuv you mummy.' I've been forced into being her perfect little angel every time she gets stressed so she can feel stronger. But I'm not eight years old anymore. I'm sixteen going on seventeen. She is making _me_ feel stressed."

"It sounds like your problem is more with your mother than your sister."

Tina didn't want to admit it, but Clarence was right. It was less difficult to blame her sister than her mother. Her mother had always been good and kind to her, just overprotective and overbearing. "I want to grow up now."

"Why have sex to grow up?" he asked her. "Why not talk to your mother?"

"Because she won't listen to me. I tell her I'm growing up, and she says 'of course you are,' but Mom doesn't change. Did you know she's still reading bed time stories to me? Last week Mom figured out how to use the parental controls for our cable TV service. Instead of Dexter, I get Dora the Explorer. That show is for babies. I was hoping Mom would help me grow up, guide me and offer advice. Now I have to do it all on my own."

Clarence took her hand in his and squeezed it tightly. "I won't let you down. I'll give you the best first time a girl ever had."

She smiled. "Thanks, Clarence."

He just couldn't turn away a damsel in distress. Especially one as nice as Tina.

**~O~**

At the mine Emma was soon joined by Graham, Regina and the town's emergency services and engineers. Workmen had begun to remove debris to gain access to the mine, but by removing the support more of the ceiling collapsed.

This gave cause to both Emma and Regina to start arguing again. Ms. Swan accused Regina of forcing Henry to prove himself. Regina blamed Emma for encouraging him to believe in fairy tales. Soon both ladies realized that bickering was doing them no good. It was wasting valuable time that Henry did not have.

They started discussing ways to remove the debris quickly.

Marco suggested explosives.

**~O~ **

Down in the tunnels, Henry shined his light down a shaft and reported that he saw something reflecting in the light. Archie, however, begged Henry to stop.

"Why? Because you think I'm crazy?" Henry replied.

"No, because I'm afraid for you, Henry. Were stuck inside a mineshaft with a collapsed tunnel and now we have no way out," Archie answered firmly.

Henry had shown almost no fear in going inside the abandoned mine. For the first time he felt afraid for his life and for Archie's. The boy had put himself and his friend in mortal danger. The two starting looking for another exit. They followed the sound of Pongo's barking and found an old mine shaft elevator. With no electricity to power it, they turned a large wheel to operate it manually.

Outside the mine city engineers surveyed the collapsed tunnel and found the best place to set their explosives. When everyone was clear of danger the dynamite was set off. The explosion raised a huge cloud of smoke and dust.

The shockwave from the explosion left the elevator car stuck in the mine shaft. Archie and the boy were no trapped in that rickety elevator.

When the smoke cleared around the mine entrance the engineers discovered that the tunnel had only collapsed further. Suddenly they were without options.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Victorian era on the Mainland)

With the Pixie Dust Tree threatened, the fairies of Pixie Hollow raced to protect their special tree with blankets. But the tiny covers made from leaves were too small and easily blown away by the strong chill wind. It seemed hopeless.

The secret, it turned out, was frost. Tinker Bell figured this out when a flower Periwinkle had frosted didn't wilt under the extreme cold that was racing in. Flying into the Winter Woods, Tink found her sister who shared the secrets of the frost. Soon every frost talent fairy was on the warm side and putting down a protective layer on every plant and tree in the warm seasons.

After the freeze passed by and the seasons began to reassert themselves back into balance, Clarion and Milori revoked the border law. Since frosting the trees and plants saved them from the cold, it was theorized that frost could offer protecting to the wings of warm fairies who wanted to venture into the Winter Woods. It proved to be a correct hypothesis and soon warm fairies were visiting their friends and guild mates on the cold side of Pixie Hollow.

Rescinding the old law also allowed Queen Clarion and Lord Milori to rekindle their old love affair. One that had been interrupted centuries earlier. "Oh if we only knew," she told him. "How many years we have wasted away from each other."

"Don't focus on what we've lost, my dear," he told her. "Think about what we have gained."

Indeed, Tinker Bell's foolhardiness had ushered in a new era for Pixie Hollow. No one had to be afraid of losing a wing anymore. New friendships and romances were formed and the sisterly bond between Tink and Peri only deepened.

Rosetta, the garden fairy was admiring herself in the reflection of the ice when a handsome winter sparrow man introduced himself. "Hi, my name is Sled," he told her.

"Ohmygoshthatsperfect," she blurted out before catching herself. "Ooh, my name's Rosetta."

Vidia and Spike, one of the frost fairies who shared a similar cynical attitude, became good friends.

Bobble, a scrawny, redheaded tinker sparrow man brought a huge acorn to the hyperactive frost fairy Gliss, beginning a friendship that would morph into a romantic relationship.

Clarion and Milori smiled. "Yes, you are right, my love," she told him. "We have gained so much today."

While the other fairies and sparrow men played in the snow, Milori pulled Clarion aside. The two monarchs disappeared into the forest. They arrived at a frozen pond some distance away from the festivities. There on a rock next to the iced over pond was a picnic basket and a bottle of fairy wine.

"Oh, Milori, you shouldn't have," she breathed in anticipation. The Lord of Winter sat Clarion in his lap where he favored here with fruits and pastries made by the baking guild. After a lovely repast, they remained in each other's embrace, looking up at the sky. They watched clouds float lazily by.

"That looks like a mouse," she said pointing to one cloud.

A moment later he replied with, "That one looks like a snowy owl."

Clarion pointed to another cloud and said, "That one over there looks like a dragonfly."

"And that one," Milori instantly replied, "looks like two lovers ice skating."

"Where?"

Milori smiled playfully at her.

"…oh. I would love to." Helping the queen don a pair of ice skates (paper clips tied to her fairy shoes), Milori started to teach Clarion how to skate.

"It's not that unlike water skating," Milori said. "But you don't have use your wings."

"Well, I can't… keep… my balance," she told him.

"Then hold on to me, my love." Milori put one arm around her waist and took her hand in his free hand. She put her free arm around his strong body. Together they skated slowly across the isolated pond. She laid her head against his chest. Soon they were embracing each other. For the first time in a millennia they could once gain feel their hearts beat as one.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire drove to the playground, but couldn't find her daughter at the picnic tables. She exited her truck and started looking around desperately.

"Mom!" Tina called. "Mom, over here!"

Claire found her baby girl sitting in the back seat of some horrible looking vehicle that reminded Claire of an old AMC Gremlin. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"It's cold out there," Tina answered. "Don't worry, we've been studying."

THOOOM! Another shockwave rocked the town, this one wasn't anywhere near as strong as the first, but it caught everyone's attention just the same.

"What was that?" Tina asked.

"It came from that old mine shaft," Claire answered. "I'm going to take a look, they might need some help. Clarence, take her home."

Claire jumped back into her truck and drove out towards the collapsed mine. Clarence did as instructed and took Tina home. First they stopped at Granny's for a lite dinner.

**~O~**

At the hospital Mary Margaret was helping David Nolan with his physical therapy, keeping him company while he walked across the hospital grounds. Normally, someone from the hospital staff would accompany him, but the incident at the mine kept people busy. Mary Margaret, who volunteered regularly at the hospital, was willing to help.

"I feel like I woke up in a strange land," he told her as they strolled through the pastoral hospital grounds. He said that nothing felt very real except what he felt for Mary Margaret. Kathryn Nolan was trying to help him remember his former life, but none of it was coming back. Of course, he didn't tell Kathryn that. He acted like he remembered their old dog, Ajax. "Who names a dog Ajax?" he said.

That was when Mrs. Nolan showed up with cranberry muffins that she had baked for him. She was so loving to David that he couldn't disappoint her. Mary Margaret knew when to take her leave and walked away so Kathryn and David could be together

"See you tomorrow?" David asked her. She smiled back, but didn't give an answer.

**~O~**

Pongo, Archie's dog kept barking. Regina, Graham and the town's engineers couldn't find another way into the collapsed mine. But Emma had a sneaking suspicion and let Pongo out of the fire truck. He instantly ran to a spot of bare ground and started barking and pawing at it. Town workers cleared some of the dirt away and found a large metal sheet covering a rusty grate. It was an old mineshaft for an elevator.

With more onlookers arriving every minute, attracted by the explosion, they watched as Billy, Ruby and Marco used the two truck to remove the heavy grate. It was decided that someone had to go down there and look for Henry and Archie. It was the only way in or out. Regina wanted to go, but Emma got the nod. Regina had been driving a desk for ten years while Emma was more physically fit for the task.

"Bring my son back to me," Regina pleaded.

* * *

**Over 3000 views! That's awesome. Thanks to everyone who has been reading. You really made my day.**

**Here is another chapter to enjoy. Please R&R. Thank you very much. **


	28. Chapter 28

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 4**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

The phone rang at the Kensington residence. Claire was calling to alert her youngest what was going on at the old mine.

"The mayor's son is trapped," she told Tina rather frantically. "It collapsed and they are trying to get him and Dr. Hopper out. I'm staying here in case they need a hand."

"Okay, Mom," Tina said. "I hope Henry and Doctor Hopper are okay."

"Yes. Me, too, sweetie," Claire answered. "Is your sister there?"

"She hasn't come home yet," Tina answered.

"Okay, call me when she does. I wuv you," Claire said.

"Awe, Mom, you're not going to make me say that, are you?"

"Please?"

Tina just sighed. "I wuv you, Mommy."

She could practically hear the big smile through the receiver. "I'll be home as soon as this is over. Bye."

"Bye, Mom." Tina hung up the phone.

Tina informed Clarence what was transpiring at the mine. He seemed genuinely frightened. Unable to study, they turned on the big screen television in the family room and watched the local news as events transpired.

**~O~**

Desiree was reporting from the old mine. Her co-host, Cleo moved throughout the crowd getting brief interviews with the onlookers gathering emotions, feedback and general impressions. Though not true reporters, Desiree thought it would be good way to bolster ratings for their morning show.

"And there she goes now," Desiree said. The camera focused on a blonde woman in a harness as she was being lowered into an old elevator mine shaft tunnel. The winch on the back of Billy's tow truck was the means by which she was carefully descending into the opening.

"Henry Mills and his therapist, Doctor Archie Hopper have been entombed inside this old mine for hours," Dee summarized. "Previous attempts to open up the collapsed entryway failed. Now this tow truck winch is their last desperate hope to recover the two missing persons from a terrible fate."

The camera never deviated from the scene as the blonde woman disappeared into the ground. "Newcomer Emma Swan, recently deputized, is risking life and limb by going down this treacherous elevator shaft to rescue those poor souls. We don't yet know why Henry and Dr. Hopper went into the mine, but right now we can only hope they come out alive."

**~O~**

While Emma was being lowered into the mine shaft, Archie and Henry sat in the rickety elevator. A single flashlight sitting upright was their only light source. Henry shared one of his chocolate bars with Archie as they talked. Henry apologized for getting them trapped. He only wanted to find proof of his theory so that Archie wouldn't think he was crazy.

"I don't think you're crazy," Archie said. Dr. Hopper explained that his mother had a very clear idea of what she wanted from him and she reacted badly when he deviated from that. But it was also natural for Henry to be creative and choose his own path. Archie then apologized for things he had said, about delusions and psychosis. Unlike Henry, who seemed to know who he was and what he had to do, Archie wasn't the person he thought he could be. At times he lacked conviction and had trouble standing up to authority figures.

"I'm not a very good person." This admission left him feeling dejected and depressed.

While the two spoke and shared, the elevator would occasionally shift and groan reminding the occupants of its precariousness.

"I think you can be him," Henry said. "I think you can be a good person."

Dr. Hopper couldn't see the connection. Jiminy Cricket was a conscience. Archie wasn't.

Like Archie, Jiminy took a while to figure out the right thing to do. It was just harder for Archie with the curse, Henry told him. Maybe that voice inside was who he really wanted to be. Somehow this resonated with Dr. Hopper. It made him believe that he could be that person after all. He listened deep inside himself, clearing his mind to find that voice. That conscience that everyone was supposed to have.

A sudden jolt brought both of them out of the moment. The elevator was shifting more, slowly losing its footing. They both knew what it meant. Soon the elevator would fall back to the bottom floor and they would both lose their lives.

**~O~**

Claire and the others watched intently as the winch kept putting more and more of the metal line down into the elevator shaft. "How far down can they be?" she asked herself from time to time.

Hartley was also there watching, waiting and hoping. Both were so concerned with the safety of Henry and Doctor Hopper that neither noticed the other.

**~O~**

Desiree continued to broadcast, usually with quick reports from Cleo as she made her way through the crowd with a cameraman. Cleo walked up to a middle aged woman with honey brown hair dressed in work clothes and stuck the microphone in her face. She identified herself to the woman before asking questions.

"What's your name?" Cleo asked.

"Claire Kensington," she replied.

"And what's going through your mind right now, Mrs. Kensington?"

"Oh I just hope they are okay," Claire answered. "I have two girls of my own and if one of them were trapped like this I would be a total wreck. I don't know how Mayor Mills can stay so calm."

"Thank you, Mrs. Kensington," Cleo replied before moving on to the next person.

**~O~**

"Hey, that's Mom!" Tina shouted from her sofa. "I can't wait to tell her she was on TV."

"I think she already knows," Clarence replied with a chuckle.

"Huh? Oh, right. Yeah because she was just interviewed by a TV reporter. Never mind."

Clarence leaned over and kissed her lovingly on her temples. She responded by putting her head on his shoulders. He put his arm around her and she moved in closer while they watched.

**~O~**

Archie had to know why Henry still believed in the curse. At first Henry couldn't provide an answer, but after some prodding the boy was able to convey that he believed there had to be more than just this. He wanted proof, but found nothing.

"That's not true," Dr. Hopper replied. "You found me." Archie finally remembered what kind of person he had always wanted to be. "I just have to listen harder."

A few moments later dirt began to fall on them. When Henry and Archie looked up, a flashlight beam shined on them. It was Emma. When she reached the unsteady lift, she called up to Billy through a shoulder mounted walkie-talkie. "Okay, that's enough."

An escape door on the top of the elevator opened and Archie lifted the boy up to Emma. She took him in her arms and he wrapped himself around her. But the movements of Archie and Henry caused the elevator to shift and lose its hold. It shuddered and bounced around.

"I'm sorry!" Emma cried.

"It's okay," Dr. Hopper replied. He had found himself and was at peace. A second later the elevator broke free and crashed down into the floor of the mine shaft.

Neither Emma nor Henry could watch the horror. But Emma did look, she felt something tugging at her. There was Archie Hopper clinging to his umbrella. He had managed to slip its hook shaped handle through a carabiner on her harness just before the elevator collapsed.

**~O~**

"I see something. Yes, I see something," Desiree yelled into her microphone. "Yes, it's Emma Swan. AND THERE'S HENRY MILLS. The mayor's little boy who was trapped. And here comes the ecstatic mother."

Regina embraced her son so tightly. The people who had gathered applauded and cheered the wonderful end of this terrible day.

"Ooh, isn't that sweet," Desiree continued. "Oh wait. Yes, Doctor Hopper made it out just fine. Oh this is a happy day for the townsfolk of Storybrooke. What could have been a disaster has turned into triumph. Hopelessness gave way to ingenuity and determination. Sadness replaced by happiness. No one will ever forget where they were when that little boy emerged unharmed from the mine."

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

It was late at night, Jiminy's parents were asleep. With no conscience to bother them they always slept well. Not Jiminy. His conscience couldn't let him sleep knowing what horrors he had committed today. But he felt that he could make things right again. He made a wish on a star, calling out to The Blue Fairy.

"You don't have to wish so loud," The Blue Fairy replied. Alas, she could not undo the spell. The boy's parents were gone and no magic could undo death. Jiminy still felt responsible and wanted to help, but he didn't know how to get away from his parents. He thought this was all he could be.

"What if you could be the person you always wanted?" she asked him. Jiminy listened and heard crickets. That was what he wanted. To be free like them. With a wave of her wand Jiminy became a cricket. He was well dressed and sported an umbrella. That orphaned boy was going to face many daunting challenges and would need a conscience and a guide. Jiminy would be that guide, The Blue Fairy told him.

"How will I find him?" Jiminy chirped. "What's his name?"

The Blue Fairy replied, "The boy's name is Geppetto."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

The instant Henry was safe Regina reverted back to her old ways. "Deputy," she told Emma, "You can clear the crowd away." This was how Regina intended to keep Emma away from her son.

A moment later Dr. Hopper confronted Mayor Mills. He was going to treat Henry as he saw fit according to his professional ethics and his conscience. Regina, however, wouldn't stand for it. She was determined to get her way. Archie reminded her that if she were to ever get into a custody battle with Emma, and that was a good possibility, the court would bring in expert testimony to determine who is a fit parent. Often that expert testimony was the person who treated the child.

This sent a chill down Regina's spine.

"You can try and do your worst," he told her. "But I will always do my best."

**~O~**

The celebration at the old mine lasted well into the night. Friends talked and shared their feelings. Marco and Archie talked extensively. So much in fact that Emma thought Marco was Archie's father.

"No, they're just friends," Henry informed her. Seconds later Henry began to hear crickets. A sound he had never heard in Storybrooke. "See, things are changing."

Elsewhere in Storybrooke, Mary Margaret resigned as a volunteer at the hospital, unable to bear the pain of being so close to David, the man she loved so dearly, but could not have.

Mr. Gold closed up shop. Inside his store were two marionette puppets. The very same ones that had once been Geppetto's mother and father before they accidentally drank the potion intended for Jiminy's parents.

Back at the mine, someone had bought a few cases of beer to celebrate Henry and Archie's rescue. Jo, the exterminator, was handing out bottles and cans to whomever wanted one.

Ruby, the waitress at Granny's Diner, noticed Claire staring wistfully at someone. A man in coveralls. He was tall, spoke with a refined British accent and had salt and pepper hair.

"He looks nice, doesn't he?" Ruby asked Claire.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. Hartley is quite a special man," she answered. "He pulled me out of a bind; twice already."

"But he hasn't noticed you, huh?"

Claire sighed. "Not really. I think he tried to ask me out once, but that was years ago. He's moved on since then."

"Well, what's to stop you from asking him out?" Ruby suggested.

"Oh, I couldn't do that."

"You can do it, Claire."

"No, no I can't. I mean just look at me. I'm almost fifty, I dress in work clothes. I look old and I feel old."

"Well the right set of clothes will make you feel young and sexy all over again," Ruby told her. "Come by my place tomorrow and I'll MILF you up. It'll blow his mind."

"What? Ruby, no!"

"Trust me, I'll have you in clothes so seductive he'll be trying get you out of them faster than you could get into them."

"I don't want a one night stand," Claire said. "I want a deep, loving and committed relationship like what I had with Charlie."

"Live a little," Ruby said emphatically. "Nothing is wrong with having some random guy you just met tear your clothes off and leave you begging for more. Oh hey, watch this. I sent a friend of mine over there."

"You did what?!"

"If this doesn't get you to talk to him then you are not human."

A woman happened by and "accidentally" dropped something at Hartley's feet. Hartley, ever the chivalrous man bent over to pick it up.

"Oh come on, I'm not that bad," Claire said.

"Look, look, look," Ruby pleaded.

"No, I'm not going to look." She looked. "_Oh my gosh_. That man has a butt that just won't quit."

"See. Told ya."

"Do you really think I can pull off being a… a…?"

"… A hot mom he can't resist? Absolutely. I can make you into his perfect fantasy woman," Ruby boasted.

Claire sighed. "No, I can't do that. Sorry, Ruby. What I had with Charlie was so wonderful. Trust me, once you've been in a perfect marriage like that, nothing else will ever come close."

"Okay, suit yourself. I'm going to go over there and talk to Billy. Something about him just drives me wild."

Claire just lowered her head. She couldn't even get up the strength of will to ask a man out on a date. Her heart ached with the loss of Charlie. It also ached from the emptiness. She sat in the bed of her truck, surrounded by the tools of her trade and was wondering if she could ever find love again.

"Hello, would you like a drink?" a suave and refined British voice asked.

She looked over. It was Hartley. He was holding two bottles of beer in his hand. She was startled by his presence. Claire wanted to say something like "Hi" or "Yes, I would love one." But she felt just like a frumpy, teenaged wallflower who had just been asked out to the prom by the hunky star quarterback. So instead she blurted out a big, goofy laugh that sound liked "Bwuh huh huh huh!"

It was the worst sound she could have made. Claire slapped he hands over her mouth. She was totally mortified. Yet, he just smiled as if he thought it was the cutest thing in the world.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized. "Uh, yes. I would love some. Beer that is."

Hartley handed her one of the bottles and then very spritely leapt into her truck bed. "Shall we? To Henry's successful rescue?"

"Yes, to Henry and Dr. Hopper," she replied. They clinked their bottles together and then took a couple of swigs.

"May I?" he asked, motioning to the truck bed. He was politely asking her if he could sit with her.

"Oh, of course," she said with a smile. Claire looked over at Ruby, who was stretched out across the hood of the tow truck while she conversed with Billy. Her tight fitting pants and high heels making her look seductive and tempting. "Thanks, Ruby," Claire murmured, a smile on her face. She sat down next to her handsome visitor and they began to talk and enjoy themselves, sipping the beer from the brown bottles they kept in hand at all times.

**~O~**

Behind the tow truck, Regina hid from the onlookers and celebrators. She hovered over the mine shaft from which Henry had emerged earlier that day, safe and unharmed. The grate had been returned to its place immediately after the rescue. Regina removed the piece of glass debris from her coat pocket. She observed it carefully, remembering what it was. She tossed the piece to the ground where it fell through the grating and tumbled down the long shaft until it hit the bottom of the mine. It landed right next to what Henry had seen reflecting in his flashlight beam. The piece of glass debris was Henry's proof. A shard of Snow White's glass coffin, which now lay hidden forever in bowels of the mine.

**~O~**

"Oh would you excuse me for just a moment, Hartley?" Claire asked.

"Yes, of course," he answered pleasantly.

Regina was walking by. "Madam Mayor," she called out to her.

"Yes, Mrs. Kensington, what is it?" Regina sounded somewhat annoyed.

"My apologies, but you said yesterday the city intended to develop this area," Claire prefaced. "Is that something you'll be taking bids on?"

"I'm sorry, Claire, that work will be done entirely by city crews," Regina answered with a smile.

"Oh, okay, thank you," Claire replied, embarrassed from being rebuffed that way. Especially in front of Hartley.

"What about going to Town Hall?" Hartley suggested. "The city has always listed postings for work for which they want to receive bids. I'm sure there is something there you could do."

"Yes, why don't you try that," Regina answered. "In fact, the hall itself needs a little work done. I'm sure if you were to submit your bid tomorrow I could get the town council to accept your submission without question."

"You couldn't find a finer person to do that work, Madam Mayor," Hartley enthused.

"Good, well then I'll be looking for your submission," Regina said with an angry smile. "The cutoff date is the end of the week. Good evening."

Regina walked off, practically stormed off was more like it. Claire didn't seem to notice. "Why is it every time I need a knight in shining armor you show up?"

"Just lucky I guess," he answered with a smile.

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you for taking me to the hospital. Thank you for clearing my name with the people of this city. And thank you for suggesting the Town Hall."

"It's my pleasure," he said. "Not to seem forward, but would you like to go on a date with me?"

The smile on her face melted away. Now she seemed sad, confused and in pain.

"I'm sorry," he told her. "I just…"

"No, it's me," Claire admitted. "It has been eight years since Charlie died. He was such a great and loving husband, always putting us before his own needs. Now whenever I even think about dating another man I feel like…, well like I'm cheating on him. It makes me sick to my stomach. I honestly don't think I could ever replace him."

Claire sunk back down into the truck bed. Hartley again sat next to her. "Believe it or not, I can sympathize. Charlie was a rare breed. He was a great friend to me. Always willing to offer useful advice, to teach or to listen or just to have a beer with and enjoy the game. When he passed I felt like I had lost a brother."

"Yeah, that was Charlie. He always had the biggest heart," she said.

"I understand your apprehension," he told her. "But if you ever change your mind…," he said handing her a business card with his home address written on the back.

She smiled at him. "Thank you." Hartley leapt out of the truck bed as easily as he had jumped in. He took his beer from Claire, bid is goodbyes and strolled back to his friends.

Claire took a deep swig of the beer and then put the bottle to her head. The alcohol acted like a tonic for her pain. She had been enjoying Hartley's company immensely. At least until he asked her out. Then that twisting sensation returned to her stomach. _Why did Charlie have to be such a good husband?_ she asked herself. Why did she have to be so lonely?

* * *

**Thanks to everyone for making this story such a success. After recently hitting 3000 views, the story is now at 3400 views. You are all amazing. **


	29. Chapter 29

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 5, Chapter 5**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"What are you two doing?" Valerie asked before announcing her presence in the kitchen.

Instantly Tina shut the laptop cover. "Nothing. We were just looking at… uh… art… art supplies."

"Yeah, art supplies," Clarence agreed.

Valerie didn't buy one word of it. "Uh huh. Art supplies in nasty positions? You two aren't looking at sex stuff, are you?"

"Don't tell your mother, Val," Clarence said. "We were just studying for one of Tina's classes."

Valerie quirked a suspicious eyebrow. "She doesn't have Sex Ed this year."

"How would you know?" Tina asked.

"Because I had the same classes on the same schedule as you and as I recall Sex Ed was taught when I was fourteen, not sixteen," Valerie said.

"Oh, right," Tina replied. "Please don't tell Mom what we're doing. Please?"

"Hey, if you want to go and get yourself knocked up and preggers, why should I care," Val responded.

"I'm not going to get pregnant!" Tina shouted. "Oops."

"Yeah, 'oops' is right," Val said. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me. I'm just loving the fact that you aren't the perfect little angel Mom always says you are. She's always comparing me to you. You're her paragon of virtue and sweetness. I'm her biggest disappointment for not being you. I wish Dad were still alive. He always understood me. Mom doesn't even try."

"Yeah, I know how you feel," Tina replied.

Valerie just stood there, utterly perplexed. "Wait, what?"

"She doesn't understand me, either." Tina explained how she felt about her mother using her as a crutch when times got too stressful, how it made her feel and why she thought it was necessary to start growing up. "I feel like I'm being smothered, stunted. I want to be an adult. I'm a person not a support beam."

"You want what I want, little sister," Val replied. "You want out of this hell hole. Sometimes I feel like the Chief at the end of _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_. Smash the window and run."

"Oh great, you just spoiled the ending for me," Tina complained. "Thanks a lot."

Clarence gave her a strange look.

"I've been wanting to watch that film, but Mom won't let me," Tina complained. "I'm not allowed to view any movie with a PG-13 rating or above."

"Don't worry, Sis, I didn't spoil anything," Valerie said. "_One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ is one of those movies where the journey is more important than the destination."

Valerie went to the fridge and grabbed some fruit. "By the way, where is Mom?"

"She's at the old mine just outside of town," Tina replied. "The Mayor's son and Dr. Hopper got trapped down there. That new woman in town, Emma something got them out. Mom went to help."

"Whoa, I spend one day mowing lawns and I miss all the good stuff," Valerie said. "Well, I'm going to bed. Goodnight."

"Promise you won't tell!" Tina pleaded.

"Me? Tell her? Why should I? First, Mom would never believe me. Second, when she finds out, and she will eventually find out, her head will explode. She won't be able to reconcile your actions and her image of you. Her head will explode and I am going to enjoy watching every minute of it. Have fun having your 'revenge sex' against Mom."

The swinging door to the kitchen swept back and forth briefly after Valerie's exit. Tina's mind seemed to be in a similar state. She had been so dead set on doing this to prove she was growing up that it never occurred to her she might be seeking revenge instead. Now her mind was swinging back and forth between conviction and doubt. She stared at the closed laptop for a moment.

"Am I doing this for the right reasons?" she asked her beau.

"I can't answer that," Clarence replied. "Only you can, but if it is for all the wrong reasons you'll only be hurting yourself."

Tina sighed. That wasn't the answer she was looking for. _Why did men have to be so indecisive?_

"I'm not in your head to know the precise reasons," he continued. "But from what you've told me, it does sound like you're more focused on your mother seeing you as a child rather than on you wanting to grow up."

This did seem to give her some clarity, but she would have to give it considerably more thought. "Why don't we wait until _I know _what _I want_?"

Clarence reached over and kissed the lovely girl on the forehead. "Okay. It's good you're thinking this through, Tina. I'm proud of you."

**~O~**

When Claire arrived home late, she had the slightest smell of beer on her. And a more overpowering odor of dirt and dust from the mine. She checked on her two girls, both were sound asleep in their beds. It hurt Claire that she had missed another bed time story with Tina. She was already stepping up to help earn money for the family. They stay little only so long.

Stepping into her bedroom, Claire turned on the water for a quick shower. While disrobing she noticed a pile of money and receipts. They were from the lawns Valerie had cut today. She smiled. _Thank goodness she's coming around_, Claire thought happily.

By the time she was ready for bed Mrs. Kensington was too tired to stay awake. Yet she couldn't sleep. The invitation by Hartley to go on a date was a tantalizing one. But her heart still belonged to Charlie. How could she just push him aside like nothing happened? _Something did happen, Claire_, she told herself. _He died. Remember?_

Eight years ago Charlie was driving home late. He had stopped to buy a few little things for his "best girls." During the drive, he called home to let Claire know where he was and to expect him. He never arrived. A phone call from the hospital sent her into a frenzy of crying and panic. Charlie had a massive heart attack on the drive home and collapsed in the vehicle. Her husband would die a few hours later at the hospital, his wife and two girls by his side.

"Why can't I just move on?" she grumbled. After a frustrating hour or so of rolling and turning in the bed, she finally managed to fall asleep. Claire remembered, through her dreams, a vivid memory of when Charlie was alive. He would walk through the front door and cheerfully announce "Where are my best girls?" and waited for all three to run up and into his arms for a giant bear hug.

Then he would greet each individually, starting with the youngest. "Hi, Munchkin," he would say to Tina.

"Hi, Daddy," the little one replied cheerily.

Charlie would give her a hug and a kiss, all the while sneaking her a small box of chocolates. Tina squealed and darted off to enjoy her treat.

He moved to Valerie, "How's my future pilot?"

"Ready for takeoff," she said. Again, another hug and kiss.

"Here, I picked this out just for you." Charlie handed her a model airplane kit to build.

"Alright! Thanks, Dad!"

Valerie hugged him in gratitude, then went to her room to start working on it.

"What nothing for me," Claire playfully complained.

"I saved this for my favorite love." Charlie reached into his chest pocket and brought out two tickets to a local production of _The Music Man_. A musical Claire adored.

"How did you get these?!" It was her moment to have a cheery smile on her face. "I thought it was sold out."

"I know someone."

"You always know someone," she replied.

"Anything for you," Charlie said. "You are my queen."

"And don't you forget it," Claire answered.

"You're supposed to say I'm your hero," Charlie told her.

"HA! Not in this lifetime, buster." Then she kissed him.

**~O~**

The alarm sounded, waking Claire to a new morning. The bright sunbeam shot through her window, bathing her room in a warm and yellow light. It should have been a cheerful moment for her. Several years ago when Charlie was still alive it was. She woke up every day now in an empty bed. The other side perpetually cold. As always, while getting ready Claire opened a bottle of cologne. It was Charlie's favorite.

Every day after work he would come home, greet his family and then go upstairs to shower. Afterwards, he would apply a little bit of the cologne. Claire could smell the enticing aroma whenever he wrapped his arms around her, which was often. Charlie liked touching and hugging his wife. She liked it, too. It formed and perpetuated a strong bong between them. One of love, affection and intimacy.

Every night when they went to bed, that was the scent she inhaled as she drifted off to sleep. She was greeted by it each morning, as well. Ever since his passing Claire opened that bottle to take a tiny whiff. It brought back so many wonderful memories.

Her dream last night had upset her, though. As much as she adored Charlie, whenever he said "You are my queen" she never once reciprocated with "You're my hero." And whenever he asked, she always replied with "Not in this lifetime." How was she to know that his "lifetime" would be so short?

Then she remembered Hartley. Last night he asked her out on a date. She refused him. She felt that to say "yes" would betray Charlie. She would be cheating on him. But he was long gone. Passed away from a heart attack. Her bed was always cold from that day forward. Someone like Hartley could fill it and make each morning warm and wonderful again.

But Charlie was still there in that bed. Not physically, but through her memories. Some mornings Claire believed that she could still whiff that elegant cologne. Yet all she had were memories now. She clung to them the way a drowning person clings to driftwood.

_Am I drowning?_ Claire asked herself. She hardly had time to answer.

The sound of shattering glass pulled her back into reality. She looked down and saw that the glass bottle of cologne had slipped from her fingers and smashed into the basin of her sink.

"NO! No, no, no, no…." she pleaded. It was too late. The last drops of the fragrance had slipped down the drain and into the sewers. The once heady aroma was now overwhelming and smothering. Claire tried to save some of the liquid by blotting it with tissue, but all she could save were the shards of the broken bottle. With no other choice, Claire turned on the water and flushed the remaining shards down the drain. Her newest memory of Charlie was of more loss.

The bottle and the cologne were replaceable. But this bottle she had bought for him just days before he passed away. Her last physical connection to Charlie was gone. That was not replaceable.

Without it she felt lost.

**~O~**

At the end of the workday, Claire drove home. Tina was with Clarence again studying and Valerie drove around town on her bike to get away and think, something Dr. Hopper said she needed. The counseling sessions she and Val were undergoing seemed to be helping. Yet none of this new stability could undo the tempest of emotions she was feeling right now. Hartley was exactly the man she wanted in her life, but she could not set aside her attachment to Charlie.

During the drive she passed one of the local junior high schools. Its mascot was a knight in shining armor. It reminded Claire of the story she had read to Tina the other night. The one with the heroic knight that freed a princess. Their love was ill fated, though. She found someone new to love, but he didn't. He could not let go of his feelings for the princess. He never could make room in his heart to love another the way he loved that princess.

She felt so lucky to have met Charlie. They were perfect for each other, even though at first it seemed like they were entirely incompatible. Just like the princess and the knight. She was amazed at how things can turnout. Same situation, different results. She was the princess. Charlie was the heroic knight, even if his shiny armor was little more than coveralls caked in dirt and grease.

Then that sour feeling in her stomach hit again.

_"You were supposed to say I'm your hero."_

_"Not in this lifetime, buster."_

That exchange kept replying in her head. Charlie always made this look so easy. She never appreciated how hard he worked, the sacrifices he made or the time he spent away from his family just to make sure they had everything they needed and much of what they wanted.

Claire was barely holding on where Charlie succeed effortlessly. Or at least he made it look effortless.

_Was that it?_ She asked. _Is that what is holding me back?_

Claire turned around and headed for the town's cemetery. She bought a few flowers and set them at Charlie's headstone. It was a wide stone intended to for two people. A husband and wife. They both expected to grow old together when they bought this double sized plot.

What if she took another man? Then what?

It seemed so strange that this spot was the mirror opposite of her bed. For each, one side was empty. His side on the bed, her side in the burial plot. Both incomplete. Both waiting for…, for what?

For someone to fill the void. If she filled the emptiness of her bed with another man, then would this spot next to Charlie go empty forever? He had such a big heart. The man loved without condition. Was it betrayal to be with another man? Charlie had done so much for her, Tina and Valerie.

Her eyes swelled with tears. Her mouth and lips trembled with pain, regret and fear. "I'm so sorry," she told his gravestone. Claire began to open up to the headstone about her feelings for Hartley. She cried as she spoke to her dead husband.

"I'm so alone now," she said. "I miss you so very much. Hartley is a good man. He is a lot like you. Loving, giving and willing to sacrifice for others."

She stopped, as if waiting for him to reply.

"The girls need a father figure around the house now more than ever," she continued. "All they have are memories. Memories that are eight years old. They need someone to give them the guidance and counseling they are going to need as they become adults."

Again, Claire stopped talking, waiting for her husband to answer.

"You did so much for us, Charlie," Claire began to cry even harder. "I never said this to you before and I wish I had. You were always my hero."

**~O~**

Leaving the cemetery Claire took one last look at the double sized plot where her husband lay. She wiped away a few tears before saying, "Goodbye, my love."

This time she felt it deeply. Her confession and catharsis left her feeling better now. She bore many burdens since Charlie's death. Now it felt like one of them had been removed.

Driving home she kept thinking about Hartley and his offer. Claire took her phone and dialed the number. After two rings someone picked up.

"Hello?" a man's voice answered.

"Hello, Hartley? This is Claire. Listen, I was thinking about what you…" she took a deep breath. "I would like to go out on a date with you."

* * *

**Okay, this brings a close to events related to Episode 5. **

**Yay, this entry has eclipsed the 100 review mark. My first story to ever do that. Thank you!**

**Remember folks, this story will soon be in the crossover section. **

**I hope you are enjoying this story. Please R&R.**


	30. Chapter 30

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 1**

* * *

The events following occur before during and after the sixth episode of season 1 titled "The Shepherd."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

A garbage truck rolled up to the curb. One man grabbed a large, brown trash canister and pulled it over to the side of the vehicle. He flipped its lid over, turned it around and slung it up against a lifting arm with a special hook. The man stepped away, pressed a switch and the arm yanked the canister into the air and over the top of the truck. The arm jostled back and forth, emptying the contents of the can before setting the canister back on the ground. The garbage man pulled aside the large, brown can and put it back against the curb where he found it.

The entire sequence took only a handful of seconds to complete. The truck moved forward a few feet to the next brown garbage can and the entire sequence occurred a second time. Then, at the next trash can, for a third time. This process continued to the end of the block where the truck, driven by another man, continued on to the next block where the two man team systematically emptied out every garbage can on one side in only a couple of minutes.

This job was boring for the two men who operated the vehicle. Despite working in close proximity, they were isolated from each other. One in the cab driving the vehicle, the other at its side operating the arm that collected the trash. They resolved this by utilizing Bluetooth earpieces on their phones to maintain a running conversation during their early morning collection routine.

"Did you see that game last night?" Blake, the vehicle driver asked his partner. Blake was a young man, a bit shorter than his colleague. At age 22 he was slim, energetic, a health food nut and driven by a need to have fun while still young. After hours he could usually be found hanging out with the gang from the post office playing basketball, mini golf or Xbox video games. Unless there was an important game on television. Blake was a fan of the Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots. All three of these major sports franchises played in Boston.

"Yup, that was awesome," Chester, the arm operator replied. "The Celtics are looking good. Think they might win another title?"

"Would be nice," Blake replied. "But they have to get past LeBron and his new buddies in Miami."

"I cannot stand that guy," Chester said. "He actually aired an entire special about himself on ESPN just so he could announce to the whole world that he was leaving Cleveland to go to Miami. Talk about an egomaniac."

"Wish we had gotten him," Blake replied.

"Oh please, that jerk would have been toxic to the Celtics." Chester heard what sounded like chewing in his headset. "Hey, what are you doing? Eating?"

"Yeah, sure. Want some?"

"Dude, that is all you do in there. Eat and drive."

"So? I'm no different than you," Blake answered. "When you drive you sit in here and nibble on those cheese crackers all day."

"That's totally different," Chester replied, slinging another trash can into place and running the arm.

"No it's not," Blake retorted. "We both eat while driving."

"Yes it is. You eat that organic health food crap," Chester complained. "You stuff your face with grapes, trail mix and apple chips."

"Hey, at least the cab isn't filled with cheese dust when I'm done driving," Blake commented.

"No, it's got raisins in between the cushions and it smells like low calorie, diet water."

"What the hell is low calorie…? That's just plain old water. Quit making stuff up," Blake sputtered.

"It's that organic bottle juice crap you're always swilling," Chester replied. "Try something like soda once in a while."

"Hey, my body is a temple," Blake answered. "And here comes the high priestess."

"Oh no, not this again," Chester groaned, slinging more trash cans for the arm to dump in the truck.

"Yup, there she is," Blake salivated. "The girl of my dreams."

The truck passed by the Kensington residence. In the front yard was Tina Kensington and her sister, whatshername. "Oh man, I think I'm in love," Blake sighed into his Bluetooth earpiece.

"Uh, you do know she is underage," Chester told him. "You'll be in jail for a very long time with a bunch of large, angry men who'll be 'loving' you on a regular basis."

"According to Wikipedia, the age of consent in Maine is sixteen," Blake told him. "She is as legal as you and me."

"I think her mother would kill you," Chester replied.

"Hey, I'm not trying to seduce her," Blake answered back. "I want to marry that girl."

"Have you asked her out on a date yet?" Chester asked.

"No, I'm just waiting for the right time," Blake said with a sigh.

"Preferably when she graduates high school," Chester replied. "Or better yet, college."

"At least I'm not dating a psycho," Blake answered. "Speaking of which, how is your girlfriend?"

Chester was the opposite of Blake in many ways. A few years older at 30, Chester was more mature. He wasn't as lean as Blake and carried a couple of extra pounds, but made up for it with plenty of muscle. He also preferred to date within his own age range. Chester was in a steady relationship with the lovely Latina exterminator, Jo. They had been happily dating for more than two years now. Their relationship was stable and strong. Jo and Chester lived in the same neighborhood. They both spent most of their free time together. A typical evening together involved cooking dinner, watching a good movie, or going dancing or just sitting at the wharf and talking.

"Jo and I are taking it slow," Chester said as he slung the Kensington's trash receptacle into place for the arm to grab and empty. "We want a deep and meaningful relationship."

"Yeah, you want a deep and meaningful night in the sack," Blake interpreted. "Latinas are known for being a handful in the bedroom."

"Our relationship isn't there yet, you pervert," Chester answered. "Love making shouldn't exist in a vacuum. It should deepen the bond between two people who are already madly in love."

"Well she certainly is mad, alright," Blake answered sarcastically. "As I recall, she was chasing you around the house last week because you came home late."

"She is protective of her relationship."

"Oh, sure, Chet. You are such a coward" Blake said.

"I'm the coward? Uh, who here has an actual girlfriend, and not some fantasy he is too afraid to ask out on a date?"

"That sounds like a challenge," Blake replied.

"I dare you to ask her out," Chet stated.

"Fortunately for me, I came prepared." Blake waved at Tina as he did every time he saw her from his truck. Then he motioned for her to come over. The young girl jogged out to his truck. "Hi! How are you today?"

"I'm great, how are you?"

"I feel awesome now that I've had a chance to talk to you," Blake said. Tina blushed. "Here I brought something for you."

Blake handed Tina bag. "Mini muffins?"

"Pumpernickel mini muffins," Blake declared. "Homemade, all natural, organic and the best muffins you will ever taste."

Tina tried one. Her face brightened instantly. "These are great. Thanks!"

"You're welcome. Uh oh, it looks like your mother is calling you."

Tina looked back and noticed that her mother was indeed calling out to her. She was standing in front of the open truck door and looked a bit miffed. "I better go before she loses her temper. Thanks again for the muffins."

Tina ran back across the street and jumped into the truck. Her mother handed Tina her book bag. Blake just sat there, watching. "Okay, guy, we had better get going before we get fired."

"Huh? Oh yeah."

"I heard your conversation," Chester said over the earpiece. "I didn't hear you asking her for a date."

"Don't worry, it'll happen," Blake answered. "I'm just sweet talking her before I ask her out."

"Uh huh." Chester then feigned coughing, masking the word "coward" with each cough.

"Screw you," Blake replied.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

King Midas was most impressed. Prince James, the son of King George, had slain the massive brute, a giant of a man in single combat. James' training, experience and cunning came in handy when he finally impaled the large man with his sword. Midas was in need of a champion. His land was beset by a dragon and every knight who dared to try and stop it had been killed. King George had his own problem. He was running out of gold and needed Midas to fill his coffers. James was going to be the catalyst.

The two kings, satisfied with the demonstration retired to the castle to discuss terms of the agreement. However, before this Midas offered a down payment. One of Midas' assistants stepped up to remove the king's special glove, but he was a bit careless.

"Careful," Midas told him. "Remember what happened to Frederick."

With the glove removed, his hand shimmered with magic. He touched the sword that James used to slay his opponent and it instantly turned to gold. Prince James was pleased that he had been able to do this for his father. His knights were grateful to have him as their prince. James, however, reminded them that the task was not yet done.

Indeed it wasn't, for seconds later James was impaled through the heart and was dead instantly. The giant which James had killed was not actually dead. Not yet. He regained consciousness enough to kill his opponent before succumbing to his wounds.

**~O~**

King George mourned the death of his son, but could not allow himself to weep long. If Midas found out that James had perished, the deal that had been struck between them would be void. George had called for help. It arrived in the form of The Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin.

King George's beloved wife could not bear a child. So they "adopted." Rumpelstiltskin had brokered a deal with a couple to buy one of their two boys. Twins. James was raised as George's son. In the intervening years, the queen had perished. King George had no hope except for the aide of The Dark One's penchant for making deals. The king, however, was not aware of the twin brother. Not until he made a new deal with The Dark One. In exchange for the location of the fairy godmother who was patron to the king, Rumpelstiltskin arranged to "adopt" the twin brother. David.

**~O~**

David was born a shepherd. He chased and outwitted a lamb, guiding it into the pen with the other sheep.

"Wasn't expecting that, were you?" he said, congratulating himself. His mother arrived home from the market. The grain merchant had a daughter who was ready for marriage, she told him, and her dowry was substantial enough to save their ailing farm.

David, however, maintained that he would marry for love, not money or convenience. His mother, though, insisted that he be practical. All of this talk ended as soon as Rumpelstiltskin appeared. Under the terms of the original deal, David could not be told of James, his twin brother. This news was a shock to David. Both that he had a twin and that his parents had sold James to this vile looking creature.

Even though the sale of James to the king saved the farm, David's mother insisted that her husband regretted the decision ever since and died with that regret. Now the farm was in need of another miracle. Initially, David didn't want to go through with this. If he accepted the agreement, though, his mother would be financially secure for the rest of her life and the farm would be safe. David ultimately agreed for her sake.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"I said yes."

"You what?"

"I said yes!" Claire repeated, both excited and anxious. She was speaking with Granny and Ruby. The three women were standing at the counter. Claire had come in to have lunch with her girls, but she had to tell someone the good news.

"That's great!" Ruby said, energized that her plan had worked.

"Where will you two be going?" Granny asked.

"Um…, I was thinking we could have coffee here and talk for a while," Claire said rather sheepishly, almost as if asking permission.

"After the dinner rush it gets awfully quiet in here," the restaurateur hinted. "A good time to sit and talk."

"Thanks, Granny," Claire answered. "I haven't dated in such a long time. I'm pretty rusty."

"You'll be fine. Just be yourself," Granny told Claire.

"Yeah, and if you need an outfit, I'll be glad to offer my advice," Ruby added.

Ruby's grandmother just scowled at her. "Your choice," Ruby amended.

"Thanks to both of you." Claire went back to her booth where was seated her two girls. She had said nothing to them about her upcoming foray back into the world of courtship. Why get their hopes up when it was still new and uncertain. Or maybe she was afraid of what they would say to her.

Moments later Kathryn Nolan entered the diner. She spoke with a couple of others in the restaurant before walking up to Claire.

"Hi, Mrs. Kensington, my husband David is coming home from the hospital at the end of this week," she said.

"Oh, that's wonderful," Claire answered with a cheery smile. "Congratulations. I'm so happy you two found each other again."

"Thank you, Claire. I'll be hosting a Welcome Home party for him, do you think you could attend?"

Claire seemed a little confused at first. She and Kathryn weren't exactly friends. Claire would fix her house when something broke or mowed the lawn and trimmed trees and shrubs when needed. But Kathryn insisted that she come. "You've so much to keep that home in good repair. And having another familiar face around might help David jog his memory."

"Memory?" Claire asked. "Is he having problems remembering?"

Kathryn explained that David was suffering from amnesia. He couldn't remember anything from before his accident. Mrs. Nolan was hosting the event not just to celebrate his return, but to put as many familiar faces in front of David in the hopes of triggering memories and breaking through the amnesia.

"He knew you pretty well before his accident," Kathryn said. "Anytime he had a problem he couldn't fix, you or Charlie were the ones he called first for assistance."

"Of course, I'll be there, Kathryn. Anything to help out a friend."

* * *

**Thanks for reading. Wow! I cannot believe that my little story has reached more than 4000 views. Awesome! Thank you, to everyone.**

**Okay, so who are Blake and Chester? Well, I've left plenty of hints. Any guesses?**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 2**

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Romano-British Period on the Mainland)

The young queen of Pixie Hollow, Clarion, recently crowned, sat alone in the garden where the gravestones of her parents stood. She stared at the stones wondering how they dealt with so many problems. Both of her parents lost their lives in service to Pixie Hollow. Now she felt alone and isolated.

"What am I to do?" she asked them. "So much has gone wrong, my subjects dislike me and they have no trust in the crown. Even the ministers look at me with suspicion."

The head stones were silent. They could say or do nothing to alleviate her pain and suffering.

"Mother, you told me that love is weakness," Clarion said, repeating one of the last things her mother said before death. "I try to live by that ideal, but I do not understand how it can be a weakness. You loved father so much. You loved Pixie Hollow and the fairies like they were your own children. It seems as though love gives us strength."

Silence again. Clarion wished that her parents could speak to her. That she could bring them back from the dead. She was not prepared for this. Not yet. The young queen felt overwhelmed by the difficult situation into which she had been thrust. The hollow had been devastated by pirates. Their accumulated treasury was gone and numerous artifacts of fairy magic had been taken. The Home Tree was destroyed.

Before, all the fairies of Pixie Hollow lived in the giant tree. Now they were forced to look elsewhere. Only the Pixie Dust Tree had been spared simply because whatever the pirates wanted was somewhere else. But most devastating, so many fairies had died defending their home. Recovery was taking time. Perhaps too much time. Clarion tried to remain cool, aloof and dispassionate, but it made her subjects think she did not care.

She did care. Her heart broke when she visited the large hole in the ground where The Home Tree once stood. She desperately fought back tears when visiting the summer gardens. Flowers had been stomped by the invaders. Wings could be seen sticking out of the ground. Garden and scout fairies had been stepped on, crushed like bugs under the boots of the merciless pirates.

But that wasn't the only place. Tinker fairies were given the horrid task of digging up the crushed bodies of their peers. Broken wings fluttering in the breeze acted as makeshift markers. These lost fairies had given their last full measure for their homeland. Clarion was resented for not being more emotional. She was called unfeeling and coldhearted. If she cried and blubbered like a human child would they respect her? Or would they only see her as weak and incapable of leading them?

This was the paradox which left young Queen Clarion so confused. She had no one to talk to, no one from whom to seek advice. No one to whom she could bare her soul and release the pain she kept pent up inside her. What she need was a shoulder to cry on. There was her good friend Mary, a member of the tinker guild. Clarion had not yet come to trust her enough for something as personal as this. She needed a parent, or a peer. She had neither.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire and Hartley had their coffee date at Granny's Diner. They talked well into the night. The subject varied as the time passed. Surprisingly, very little was spoken about Charlie. Claire made it a point not to bring him up. She didn't want to give the impression of still being overly attached. It might scare this good man away. Letting go of Charlie was not something she could do in one day. Tonight, though, was a positive first step in moving on.

Granny kept her distance, but still acted like a watchful chaperone. She would bring coffee at intervals, offered dessert at opportune times and collected empty cups and plates. Evening turned into night, but Claire and Hartley were still at their table chatting away. Claire's hands, which sat on the table were held every so delicately by Hartley at this time.

She could sympathize with Claire. Granny, a widow with a granddaughter to raise, could see a younger version of herself in Mrs. Kensington. Sometimes she wished that a handsome man would come into her life the way Hartley had come into Claire's. It was all just a pipe dream, so she lived vicariously through her friend at the table. Ruby turned the neon "OPEN" sign off and locked the doors.

Granny didn't have the heart to ask Claire and Hartley to leave just yet. So she let them have the room for a few minutes more.

She and her staff cleaned up and put away vessels, plates, pots and pans even as Claire and her date kept talking, oblivious to the fact that the restaurant had closed long ago. At one point, Granny even turned on a radio, selecting a station that played slow, romantic music. Claire, a music lover, recognized the song and a smile came across her face. Hartley, ever the romantic, asked if she would like to dance.

The two stood from their table. Hartley put his arm around her waist and took her hand in his. Claire responded in kind and put her hand on his shoulder. Soon, they were dancing to the gentle sounds of The Glenn Miller Orchestra.

"Sorry, folks," Granny finally said. "But it's late and I have to close up." Claire and Hartley looked around and realized that the diner had been locked up for the night a good while ago.

"We're so sorry to keep you," Claire apologized.

"Think nothing of it," Granny answered with a smile. "Now you two young kids run along and have a good evening."

Claire smiled, she hadn't been called "young" or a "kid" in ages. After such a wonderful coffee date, it made her feel all giddy inside.

Hartley drove Claire to her home. He walked her to the doorway. "I enjoyed this evening with you," he said.

"So did I," Claire answered, a blushing smile on her face.

"Well then, perhaps we can do this again sometime," Hartley said, obliquely asking for a second date.

"I would love to," she answered.

Hartley took Claire's hand, lifted it to his lips and gently kissed it. "Goodnight, Claire. Sleep well."

"Yeah, you, too," was all she could manage. Hartley smiled back, amused by her answer. She was clearly enchanted. So was he.

When her date drove off, Claire went into the house and closed the door behind her. She slowly walked her way up the stairs and into her bedroom. There she kicked off her shoes and sighed. Tonight was perfect.

Claire had been too caught up in the moment and failed to check up on her two girls. She really should have.

**~O~**

Valerie sped across the paved highway outside of Storybrooke. With only the moonlight and her headlamp for illumination she was playing a dangerous game of chicken with the surrounding woods. One bad turn and she could end up in a crevasse, plow into a tree trunk or thrown into a boulder. She loved it so, it made her feel alive. Speed made her heart pound, her life seemed whole and her soul sang like a bird.

Tonight, though, her speed was for another reason. Hot on her tail was Graham, the town sheriff. Valerie had the more agile vehicle, but the Crown Victoria used by Sheriff Graham was a police interceptor. A specially modified vehicle for enduring long, hard chases.

Valerie had been caught speeding through the roads. She was recorded well above the posted speed limit and Graham gave chase when he saw her shoot by. Graham was working this evening because he had promised his new deputy, Emma Swan, no night shifts.

The young motorcycle rider led her pursuer through every highway and back road she could find. Then the chase went where it should not have. Into town. It was one thing for her to drive recklessly through the woods where only she could be hurt, but now she was inside of the city itself. She was putting every resident nearby in danger. A major crash could send her motorcycle into a house where people were eating, sleeping or watching television.

This had to end quickly. He called up his deputy and asked a favor. "Swan, I've got the Kensington girl on a motorcycle," he told her. Graham told her the situation and asked Emma to block her off using Emma's yellow VW Beetle. "Really? Now?"

"Yes, now, I need a hand."

Sheriff Graham kept Emma apprised of his location and moved her into position.

Valerie shot into an alleyway. The other side was open, an easy way out for her. Then a yellow VW Beetle pulled into view, blocking the exit. Valerie had no choice but come to a fast halt. Graham's police cruiser pulled up behind her. The young girl riding the motorcycle didn't put up a fight or try to run. She knew she had been caught.

**~O~**

The next morning Claire was frightened that her eldest girl hadn't come home. Her mind kept coming up with the worst case scenarios. She called the hospital, but Valerie wasn't there. Claire then called the Sheriff's office.

"Yes, Mrs. Kensington, she's here," Graham told her.

"Oh thank my lucky stars," Claire said, breathing a huge sigh of relief. "I'll be right over."

At the station Claire was greeted by Graham and Deputy Swan, who was arriving for her dayshift. Mrs. Kensington was told what happened.

Dr. Hopper had said it was a good idea for Valerie to ride her bike around after her work was done.

_"Don't restrict her," Archie had told Claire during a session of family therapy. "The more you try and control her the more she thinks you don't understand her."_

_"What should I do?"_

_"Use an outing on the bike as a reward for completing her work and following house rules," Hopper advised. _

Claire followed that advice and it seemed to be working. Valerie wasn't causing as many problems at home. Now Claire wondered if that advice was wrong headed.

"I can't believe what you did," she said ripping into her daughter. "I give you leniency and this is how you repay me? You…, you drive like a maniac and nearly get yourself killed."

"Leniency? What am I, a prisoner in my own home?"

"No, you are my daughter," Claire shouted.

"I'm also an adult," Valerie reminded her. "I don't need your permission to drive my bike. It's my property, I can do with it as I please."

"No you can't. If that were true you wouldn't be here," Claire said. "Why can't you be more like your little sister?"

"You mean that perfect little girl you didn't have to adopt?" Valerie said, holding back what she knew about Tina. "I'm just your big disappointment, aren't I? Your big adopted disappointment."

"Yes. I am disappointed in you," Claire replied.

"Then why didn't you just send me back?" Then Valerie flipped Claire the bird.

"Oh, that's it! You want to be the smart ass? Then let's see what a few days in jail does for your attitude, young lady."

Emma had to speak up. "Don't do that to your mother," she told Valerie. "I never had a mother. Or a father. You should be grateful to have someone who cares."

"Oh please," Valerie said. "Tell you what, let me out of this cage and you can have that one as your mother."

"You can stay here and rot, for all I care," Claire yelled back. She was done hand holding this arrogant young woman. Valerie was ruining her good mood. Claire was starting to let go of her dead husband's memory. Her coffee date with Hartley went wonderfully last night. Things were going so right for her.

Now this.

Claire stormed out of the station. She was stopped in the hallway by Deputy Swan. "Wait!"

"Yes, Deputy," Claire answered, exasperated. "I'm late for work."

"I want to talk with you for a moment." Emma sat down on a bench. Claire joined her. "I know what it's like to be her."

"You were a hell raiser who gave your mother fits?" Claire asked rather petulantly.

"I never had real parents," Emma admitted. Ms. Swan related her past, how she was abandoned on the side of the road. How she was left in the hands of the system where she was moved around from family to family her entire childhood.

"So how do you know what it's like to be her?"

"I had a foster mother and a father until I was three," Emma told Claire. "When they had a child of their own they gave me up, sent me back into the system. At the time, I honestly thought that my foster parents were my real mother and father. Being sent back hurt. I couldn't understand why Mom and Dad gave me away. Why did they stop loving me_,_ was the question I kept asking myself. One thing I considered was that they couldn't love me anymore because they had a new baby of their own."

"Everything is just fine at home," Claire said.

"Mrs. Kensington, Valerie might truly believe you don't love her like a daughter because you have a girl of your own," Emma said. "She could feel squeezed out. It is possible that you do think of Tina differently than Valerie and that you treat her differently without even being aware of it. But Valerie is keenly aware of it. She feels it every time you make a comparison between her and Tina. Maybe what Valerie feels is that she has been abandoned by her own mother."

"I am not treating her differently. She is just acting out."

"Okay, so why is she acting out?"

"She just wants attention," Claire answered.

"And if you are not treating her differently, why would she need attention?"

"I don't know? She's just a bad girl."

"If that were true then you should have sent her back a long time ago," Emma replied, rather angrily.

"She's my daughter," Claire answered.

"Are you treating her like one?"

"Yes!"

"Then why is she acting out? Why does she want your attention?"

There was a pause. "I don't know." For the first time Claire began to consider what was going on inside Valerie's head, rather than just making assumptions. "Do you really think she feels I abandoned her?" she asked rather contritely.

"I don't know, ask her yourself and find out." Emma went back inside and relieved Graham. She took over as the day shift, while Graham went home for some rest.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Kensington?" Graham asked on the way out of the station house.

Claire was sitting on the bench seat in the hallway, completely lost in thought. "Hunh? Oh yes, I'm fine, Sheriff. Thank you." Moments later she stood and walked back into the station room. She paid the bail to release her daughter. The money came from an envelope marked "house payment." This money was for Mr. Gold. Claire had submitted her bid to the town council for repairs on the town hall building. But without a place to live or tools to work with it would be impossible for her to honor the contract were she awarded it.

The contract represented much needed money. It could pay for a year's worth of payments to Mr. Gold and then some. This complication put her long term future in jeopardy once again. She barely made it last month and the month before that. Suddenly, life that seemed so full of possibilities was once again clouded in doubt. This was her daughter's fault. And maybe her own, as well. She dare not say anything to either Valerie or Tina about it. Instead she chose a different route to keep her home and family together. One that would eat at her very soul.

"You're bailing me out?" Valerie asked, confused.

"Yes, dear," Claire answered in calm and motherly tones.

"Why? I thought you wanted me to rot in jail?"

"Leaving you here will solve nothing," Claire answered softly. She could not bring herself to say that this might indeed be her fault. But maybe if she tried harder, Claire wouldn't have to.

* * *

**Congratulations to CommonSwift who correctly deduced that Blake and Chester are Blaze the Firefly and Cheese the Mouse, respectively.**

**I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Thank you for reading.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 3**

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

David understood what was expected of him. He assumed his brother's identity and was spirited away to the realm of King Midas to slay the dragon. In truth, the other knights were to kill the beast, David would take the credit for it so that King George's kingdom would have the gold it needed to function.

The small contingent of men made their way into the mountains where the dragon made its lair. The sound it made could be heard throughout the land. It struck fear in everyone who could hear it. On the approach, David noticed the path was littered with the charred bodies, armor and shields of hundreds of brave men who dared to attack the monster and failed.

He knew fear, yet continued on for the sake of his mother and the realm of King George. Two men guarded him while the others made their way into the beast's home. David had to survive the assault for George to get his gold.

Screams were followed by the terrifying shriek of the dragon. Flames billowed out of the cave. Several of the king's men ran from the monster, but were killed by a second volley of fire. The dragon came out of his lair and breathed fire on anything that moved. Two of the men guarding David tried to fight the beast. One died instantly in a shower of flames. The other suffered severe burns.

David could not stand by and let this travesty continue. He took a sword and tried to assail the dragon himself. David was not a dragon slayer. His brother was. James had been trained in combat and tactics his entire life. David was a shepherd, but those instincts would serve him well.

He found a crevice and ducked into it. The dragon tried to follow, but his head could not reach very far and got wedged in tight.

"You weren't expecting that, were you?" David said, realizing what he had done. With a flash of his sword, the beast was dead. The dragon's head severed from its neck.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

David Nolan, escorted by his wife Kathryn, was brought to his home. A two story Craftsman Bungalow style house. It wasn't a bit familiar to him. She mentioned that when they first bought the house there was a windmill on the front lawn. David hated it, thinking it made the home look like an old lady house. The windmill decoration was gone. Removed long ago.

Inside the house were many of his old friends and acquaintances. This was a welcome home party for him. He was introduced to Dr. Whale, Emma and many others he had known during his life before the accident.

"This is Claire Kensington," Kathryn told him. "She and her husband Charlie kept this house in good order for us."

"Hello, David," Claire said, shaking his hand.

"Hi," he replied, not really knowing who she was.

A few minutes later he was introduced to Hartley Winter, the man who kept the central heat and air system running smoothly. The two men shook hands, but like with every other person, David did not recognize him. His amnesia still blocking all memories from before the accident.

Off in the corner Henry Mills was talking with Emma, his biological mother. He told her that David didn't remember anything because his amnesia was blocking the false memories that the curse had implanted into everyone else. His solution was for David and Mary Margaret to get together and talk. It might bring back his real memories

"Didn't we already try that?" Emma asked the boy a bit dismissively.

"And it woke him up," he told her with the conviction that came from knowing he was right.

**~O~**

"Hartley," Claire said, pleasantly surprised to see him at the party. "Funny meeting you here."

"I was about to say the same thing to you," he replied.

"How…"

He explained that the Nolan's were customers of his. Claire told him the same. She pointed to the bannister on the stairs and said it was Charlie's work. The bead board on some of the walls she had done after Charlie's passing.

Hartley mentioned the coolness of the air. "That's my handiwork," he said. Claire smiled and laughed a bit. Hartley was smitten by that grin. Claire was taken by the gleam in his eyes. The two separated themselves from the rest of the group and talked quietly in the corner.

**~O~**

David found Emma and Henry sitting on a bench seat under the stairs. They were the only people at the party he recognized outside of Dr. Whale. Henry asked if David had ever used sword. He laughed, confused by the child's question. Emma felt embarrassed.

"Have either of you seen Mary Margaret?" David asked.

She never came to the party.

**~O~**

In the kitchen, Kathryn was busy preparing more food for her guests. Regina visited her there, asking her to go out and mingle. She was, after all, the hostess.

Kathryn admitted that she felt uneasy. She had her husband back, but felt that she still didn't have him back. Without his memories, their history was meaningless to him. Kathryn loved him, but he couldn't love her. Regina advised Kathryn to go to her husband and help him remember.

**~O~**

Claire and Hartley were enjoying themselves as they talked. They had found a cozy little corner all their own. She was telling him about her music background and how she used to each piano lessons at home.

"There you are," Regina said. She had just exited the kitchen. Mrs. Nolan went looking for her husband. Regina had spotted these two getting chummy.

"Oh, hello, Madame Mayor," Claire replied. "I don't know you were friends with Mr. and Mrs. Nolan."

"Yes, we go way back," Regina told her. "I wanted to let you know, the council made a decision on your bid for renovating and repairing Town Hall this morning."

Hartley noticed that Claire looked very nervous. He was well aware of her financial troubles and that her daughter Valerie had been arrested recently for speeding and resisting arrest. Bail must have set her back quite a bit.

"Valerie's arrest didn't help your case very much," the mayor informed Mrs. Kensington.

Claire's mood changed from nervous to feeling devastated. She knew her bid had been turned down. Now she would have to sell her much beloved piano to Mr. Gold just to make her full payment this month.

"I argued that if you couldn't keep your own child under control would it even possible for you to manage your own workers," Regina said, almost enjoying the look of despair that washed across Mrs. Kensington's face. "Unfortunately..., unfortunately for me the council didn't see it my way. You've done enough for each of them that they trust you. I can't understand why. You were awarded the contract. Work begins Monday."

"Oh thank you, Mayor Mills," Claire gushed. She was ecstatic that her bid had been accepted. For Claire this meant that her immediate future would be secure. She could keep her piano after all. With the bid accepted she would be able to afford to make the payment in full.

"Congratulations," Hartley told her, clearly happy for her good fortune. "Now tell me a little more about your musical talents."

"Oh, are you musically inclined?"

"No, but that doesn't mean I'm not interested. You were telling me about your piano. I would love to hear you play it someday."

**~O~**

"Didn't you get the invite?" David asked Mary Margaret. Ms. Blanchard was trying to hang a birdhouse from a high branch. The tree sat in the front yard of her apartment building. David jumped the fence and helped her place the bird house from the nail set in the branch.

He told her that he couldn't stop thinking about her, that he loved her. She did not want to reciprocate. He wanted it to be a two way love, she said it should be a no way relationship. He was married to a wife who clearly loved and cared about him.

David said that whoever it was that chose Kathryn, it wasn't him. David, instead, chose Mary Margaret.

**~O~**

Mary Margaret didn't know what to think. Later that evening she consulted with Emma who advised that she do what was right and let David sort out his own life.

**~O~**

Valerie gritted her teeth. She had no idea that getting a tattoo could be so painful. She heard the shrill hum of the needle and never realized what was to come would be so intense. Slowly, excruciatingly the tattoo artist carefully drew in the outlines of the design she had asked for. The image of Chernabog, the demon from the_ Fantasia_ film.

Despite the constant sting of the piercing and inking of her skin, Valerie never once cried out. She held her tongue, determined to prove she was stronger than this. Stronger than her intolerable mother. Besides, if she gave up now, her back would be forever partially marked. She wasn't about to walk around as a freak. Her art would be complete. She always felt as if she were living her life in the lowest circle of Hell anyway, now she would have a hellish image on her back. A reflection of her ongoing despair with her life as it was.

**~O~**

When Valerie returned home from the tattoo parlor, she learned that wearing her brassiere set her skin on fire. The places where she had been inked was still sensitive. She went without her bra and simply wore her shirt and jacket as defense against the late autumn cold.

The shops were fully decorated for Thanksgiving which was just around the corner. Many more had already jumped the calendar and were preparing for Christmas. Thanksgiving was an American holiday in which people gathered once each fourth Thursday in November with family to give thanks to God for the blessings they had received during the year. The celebration usually involved lots of food and plenty of American football.

Valerie, her mother and sister were not religious people, but they celebrated anyway. Claire always told her it was best not to take for granted all the good things they had. Valerie could hardly call what she had "good." Her life could be so much better, if only she lived on her own.

_So why don't I live on my own?_ she asked herself. _I have the money for it. I certainly have the means. So why don't I leave?_

Valerie had no good answer for it other than she didn't have a good plan. She had fantasies, places she had selected for a new life, possible job prospects, but nothing she could point to as a fully formed plan with a proper destination in mind. Kyle had been her plan until she discovered just how much he had cared for his money over everything else.

_Maybe it's time I stopped daydreaming and started doing_, she told herself. San Antonio would be a nice place. Warm winters, hot summers, but jobs there were generally found in the military (San Antonio had several Air Force bases and one army base), the medical field or in the service and hospitality industry. San Antonio was known as a significant tourist stop with so many historical sites like The Alamo, The Riverwalk, La Villita, the Spanish Missions and the Spanish Governor's Palace just to name a few.

That's when it dawned on her the real reason she never left her mother's house. Other than flying Valerie had no idea what she wanted to do with her life. Staying with her mother at least afforded her the luxury of living without purpose.

_Isn't flying my purpose?_ she asked herself. _It's what I want to do more than anything. _

_And what would you do with it?_ her mother's voice asked. Valerie was imagining what Claire might have said.

_I don't know_, was all Valerie could answer.

_Would you fly airliners?_ Claire's voice asked.

_I don't know._

_Would you join the Air Force to fly?_ Claire's voice asked.

_I don't know._

_Would you fly charter airplanes?_ Claire's voice asked.

_I don't..._

_Would you fly a private aircraft for some wealthy person?_ Claire's voice asked.

_I don't know. Stop it!_

_Would you fly a crop duster? Or maybe an air taxi? What about stunt pilot? Maybe you would prefer to pilot an air ambulance or a plane for UPS or FedEx?_ Claire's voice asked.

_I don't know! Stop asking me these questions!_

_Well then what would you do with a pilot's license?_ Claire's voice asked.

Valerie came to a halt in the middle of the road. She ripped off her helmet and yelled, "I don't know! Stop asking me stupid questions. I don't know!"

_Questions are only stupid when you don't have an answer,_ Claire's voice told her. _Maybe it's time you found some._

"Shut up! Shut up and leave me alone."

After that, Valerie heard nothing else.

What Valerie heard was her own conscience. The serious side of her that she had shut out so she could be constantly mad at her mother. Valerie chose to ignore it. She chose to ignore it because she chose to ignore her mother and anything that was associated with it.

Valerie felt slighted by Claire. Ever since Tina was born Claire showered the little girl with attention and love, of which Valerie got less and less. Soon Claire began to compare her unfavorably to little Tina. Her little sister was so perfect and angelic, something that Valerie never was.

At first, Claire found Valerie's rambunctiousness and mischievous nature enjoyable. Once Tina came along that all changed. Now Claire had the child she had always wanted. Sweet, adorable, cute, perfect. All the things that Valerie did which Claire once thought were fun, no longer were. They were troublesome. Tina showed Claire what a cute baby could really be. Valerie became the pain in the ass no one wanted.

No one except her father. He loved her unconditionally even after Tina was born. Claire loved her unconditionally before Tina was born, and then conditionally afterwards. The condition was "be just like your perfect little sister."

Maybe the Claire voice in her head was right. Maybe it was about time she stopped just dreaming about flying and give it purpose.

* * *

**Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoy this chapter.**


	33. Chapter 33

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 4**

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

David returned with the severed head of the beast. Proof positive that the deed was done. The knights who fell were suitably honored for their sacrifice in service to King's George and Midas. George was eager to receive his payment, but Midas had other ideas. He used the threat of the dragon to also determine who would be best suited to marry his daughter, Princess Abigail. A lovely blonde woman about David's age. It was Midas' intent to unify the kingdoms through marriage.

David, still going by his brother's name of James, was about to graciously turn down Midas' offer when King George pulled him aside and explained how things worked at this level. If David did not accept, King George would kill David, David's mother and take the farm. Without Midas' gold George's kingdom would perish and everyone in it would be lost. Without a proper government there would be no protection from invaders, no means to distribute food and water, no road would be safe, no laws could be enforced. Everyone would suffer.

With no choice, David begrudgingly accepted. Princess Abigail was equally unenthusiastic about the union. "He's the one who killed the dragon?" she asked her father. "I guess he'll do."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

David returned home from his late night visit with Mary Margaret. Kathryn tried to jog his memory with old photographs of them, but David couldn't remember any of it. When Kathryn invited him to bed, he felt it was all wrong.

**~O~**

Claire and Hartley closed down Granny's Diner again. This time they were more cognizant of the time and left the restaurant at closing time. They had returned to the diner after the party ended. The middle aged couple enjoyed each others company and could talk for hours about almost anything and everything.

Since Claire drove her minivan tonight, Hartley kissed her hand when they left the diner. However, he promised to call her for another night out together. Claire liked the idea very much. Hartley waited, helping her into the vehicle and watching her drive away and out of sight before going home.

**~O~**

The next morning, Mary Margaret stopped at Granny's for coffee. She was joined by an irate guest. David left his wife, Mayor Mills told her. She was stunned by the announcement. Regina thought she knew, but was surprised to learn Ms. Blanchard had no idea. Still, Regina counted Kathryn as one of her friends and advised Ms. Blanchard to stay away from David as it could break up a marriage and hurt many people.

But David didn't want to stay away from Mary Margaret. At the school he snuck into her classroom before the start of classes. He confessed his love to her again. Mary Margaret, heeding Regina's words, rejected his advances, but David was too smitten with her to let well enough alone. He gave her time to think it. He asked her to meet him that evening at the toll bridge where she had found him. If Mary Margaret showed up it meant she was willing to go forward with their relationship. If she didn't, he would never bother her again.

**~O~**

Claire returned home that evening, her first full day of work at Town Hall complete. Valerie was with her. Both of their clothes were covered in dirt and dust from the old paint they were sanding off the walls. Tina had come directly home after classes, she was with her study partner Clarence.

The work truck, which normally smelled like dirt or oil, was filled with the enticing aroma of fried chicken, which was picked on the way home. Claire knew she was not supposed to. Her blood pressure had come down a bit, but was still high enough to be a worry. Claire had invested in a small blood pressure wrist monitor. She used it every morning and every night to track her blood pressure. The results were not encouraging. She bought the fried chicken because she was tired of the usual "bland and healthy" meals she had been eating lately and wanted to indulge tonight.

Clarence graciously excused himself so the family could eat together, but Claire insisted that he stay for dinner. She wanted to thank him for helping Tina with her studies. It gave Claire an excuse to not eat too much of the fried chicken. She also liked having a man around the house for dinner. Something the house had lacked for eight, long years.

Looking at Clarence sitting at the dinner table, Claire thought about inviting Hartley for dinner this week.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

David came back to the farm to meet with Ruth, his mother. Her life was already improving. King George had kept his part of the bargain and she wanted for nothing now. David informed her of Midas' desire to unite the kingdoms through marriage. Ruth told him not to go through with the marriage. He should marry for love and not riches as he had always maintained.

He had already accepted. David explained why. Her life would be in danger if he turned down Midas' deal. But there was more, in order to keep up the ruse that David was Prince James he could no longer see her again. David had made this one last visit to tell his beloved mother "goodbye."

It was a bittersweet parting for both of them.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW (The Romano-British Period on the Mainland)

Queen Clarion would occasionally break into bouts of weeping, but never in front of her ministers or her subjects. Her mother, were she still alive, would have admonished her for the weakness.

_"He was so strong," Clarus told her daughter. "Your father was so strong, as I should have been."_

_"You were strong, mother," Clarion said to her mother the queen. "Only someone with no heart could be witness to such a horror and be unmoved."_

_"No, I failed and Pixie Hollow suffered for it," Clarus said. "Never be weak, Ree; never think with your heart. No good ever comes of it."_

That was one of the last conversations Ree had with her mother before Queen Clarus' passing. Her moment of weakness gave the pirates the location of Pixie Hollow, the treasury and the many artifacts of fairy magic. The implications of the theft were frightening.

"Now that they know where to find us," she said to herself, "they could come back at any time."

"That is a scary thought, isn't it," a voice said.

Clarion looked up, wiped the tears from her eyes and saw a human, fairy sized, with sickeningly shimmering skin, sunken eyes and wearing clothes that appeared to be made from crocodile skins.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "How did you get in here?"

"Who I am is not important, that I can help you with your little problem is," he said with a grinning laugh. "As I understand it, some nasty pirates stole something very important to you."

"How did you know?" Clarion asked, very confused by his knowledge of recent events.

"Oh that's easy, because I warned your mother and she didn't listen," he said.

"Rumpelstiltskin, I presume?" The queen's eyes narrowed as she sized up this grotesque looking human.

"You presume correctly, dearie," he said.

"You will address me as Queen Clarion or Your Royal Majesty," she stated coldly.

"Yes, yes, dearie, we can stand on formalities or we can find a way to solve your little problem."

"I don't need your help," Clarion said flatly.

"That's what your mother said and look where it got her," the imp said, goading the young queen. "I offered to protect her home from those awful men and she refused. Now she's dead, along with your father."

Clarion thought for a moment. Clarus warned her not to deal with The Dark One, but the scouts she had sent out to find the pirates had found nothing. Clarion was getting desperate. Where her mother's age and wisdom kept her from making a deal, Clarion's youth and inexperience would lead her down a different path.

"What can you offer me?" the new queen asked the impish man.

"Now we're talking," he said with a giggle. "You see, the pirates were hired muscle and your treasury was their finder's fee."

"What did they want?"

"Something called, the Enchanted Mirror of Incanta," he told her.

Those words chilled Clarion, she could hardly imagine to what ends their employer would use the three wishes of the magic mirror. Clarion simply could not allow that. She would protect Pixie Hollow where her mother could not. No weakness.

"The mirror cannot reach its destination," Clarion said, "and it must be returned to us."

"Oh now that's two things, dearie," Rumpelstiltskin said. "I can keep it out of that other person's hands or I can return it to you."

"It must be both," Clarion said with a determined stare.

"Very well then, just remember all magic comes with a price."

"Out with it then, what is your price?"

"I'll complete both tasks in exchange for a vial of yellow pixie dust and a vial of blue pixie dust."

Clarion's heart sunk. She could not give this abhorrent practitioner of dark magic any of their precious dust, what he could do with it might be almost as destructive as what the mirror could wreck. "Why do you need it?"

"I do magic, remember, I collect magical things so I can concoct spells and enchantments as I need them."

"Including a cursed axe? The same cursed axe that killed our Home Tree?" she questioned.

"A what? Is that what happened to your pretty little tree out there? I was wondering where it went," he said with a grin. "No, dearie, I use my magic to help others in need, like yourself."

"Can you bring back the dead?" Clarion asked. Unable to retrieve the mirror perhaps if her mother and father were alive they would know what to do.

"Oh no, dearie, magic can do much, but no' that." He said with a flourish of his hands. "What about your magic mirror?"

"As you said, magic can do much, but it cannot do that," Clarion said as she lowered her head revealing her sadness. "I'm afraid I cannot make a deal with you, Mr. Rumpelstiltskin."

"Okay, dearie, if that's what you want." He paused and turned around as if to leave. Then he swiveled back to face the new queen. "Oh, but what if you could use your mirror to keep the pirates from ever finding Never Land or Pixie Hollow in the first place? Your magic can bend time, can't it?"

Clarion's mind fixed on that and suddenly began to piece together the possibilities. If the mirror could alter the past…, but should she even try? Clarion again remembered that she was not to make deals with this man.

Sensing her apprehension, Rumpelstiltskin kept pushing her towards his own ends. "That's right, if the pirates never found this place your parents would not have been killed by them. You would have to give up being a queen, but at least you'll have dear old mum and dad around for a good while longer."

Clarion was silent for several moments. She was pulled in so many different directions. The new queen was frightened by her new status and all the challenges she was suddenly forced to face alone. She wanted her parents so desperately even if only to seek their counsel. But was she thinking with her heart? She was warned not to do that. It was dangerous Queen Clarus told her. Weakness leads to destruction which Clarion witnessed firsthand, both to Pixie Hollow and to her mother.

After the pirate's assault Queen Clarus saw what her failure had cost. The Home Tree was destroyed, the treasury emptied, the artifacts of fairy magic stolen and scores of Never Fairies had perished trying to stop the attack. Clarion then watched helplessly as her mother slipped into despair and depression, losing all will to live. She even stopped eating. Clarus withered away right in front of Clarion's eyes.

If Clarion were to enter this bargain it would be for them, they wouldn't have to endure such agony, Pixie Hollow would never lose its Home Tree; those who died would still live and the Never Fairies would get back its greatest and wisest royal couple. The magic of the mirror, though, was fraught with pitfalls. If the wishes were not from the heart then the outcome would be very disastrous.

"Of course, if you decline my offer, that pair of tombstones in the royal gardens will have to suffice. I'm sure it's just the same as having them around. Give dear old mum a hug for me, will you?" He paused a moment, then turned away and said, "Well, then. I'll be going now."

"Wait," she called to him. "We have an agreement."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled. His plan was coming together nicely.

* * *

**These are the past sins of Queen Clarion.**

**Anyway, I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far.**

**I would like to add the following note. My hometown San Antonio Spurs won their fifth NBA Championship tonight (June 15, 2014), defeating the Miami Heat 4 games to 1. It was redemption after the Spurs came within thirty seconds of winning the NBA Championship last year. The Spurs lost game 6 in overtime when it seemed that they were going to win it all. They would eventually lose the 2013 NBA Finals in 7 games to these same Miami Heat.**

**Coming back to win it all this year was their season defining goal. Revenge is soooo sweet.**


	34. Chapter 34

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 6, Chapter 5**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Mary Margaret waited for David Nolan under the old toll bridge where she had found him, lying face down in the water after waking up from a coma. It was a cool autumn night and she wore a sweater to protect her against the chill. Her prince charming, David Nolan soon arrived. Her heart leapt with joy, only for it to come crashing down with the worst news possible.

He remembered. David's memories had come back and he remembered that he loved Kathryn and the life they shared together. Mary Margaret was absolutely crushed.

On his way to the bridge, David had asked Mayor Mills for directions. However, the route she gave him took David to Mr. Gold's pawn shop. The bridge was nowhere in sight. David went inside to ask where the bridge was. He noticed an elegant mobile, made from expertly blown glass.

"Charming," Gold said, describing it.

Something about it seemed almost familiar, but David had other priorities. He learned that the directions given to him by Mayor Mills were incorrect. Mr. Gold gave him proper directions to the bridge. David thank him and turned to walk out the door. When he did, David noticed a small windmill decoration sitting in the shop. It easily could have been the one that used to be in front of his house. He became enthralled by it. Suddenly, David's memories came crashing back.

At the bridge David apologized to Mary Margaret. He had decided to give his marriage with Kathryn another try. It was the right thing to do, he told her.

The right thing to do, Mary Margaret answered, was not to lead her on. Not to drag all the way out here just to break her heart. She walked away, embarrassed, humiliated and furious both with David and herself.

**~O~**

After dinner Claire retired to the guest bedroom on the first floor, which she was using as an office for the contracting business. She stared at the telephone for a moment, thinking about what she planned to do. She had no clue as to when to invite Hartley for dinner, or what to serve or what she would do with her two daughters.

Dating as a single mother was hard. With no family in Storybrooke she couldn't find a sitter. Though Valerie had appeared to settle down, but Claire wasn't comfortable asking her to babysit her little sister just yet. Worse yet, Thanksgiving was this week. Maybe it was a good idea to wait. Most likely he was deep in his own preparations for the holiday.

Claire had already reserved her own turkey at the local meat market. It came precooked with all the sides and trimmings ready to eat. Not the most traditional way to do things. Claire remembered those days when she and her mother spent hours in the kitchen baking the turkey and cooking all the food that went with the dinner.

No, she would wait.

_What about next week_? she asked herself. _You could make a date with him for after the holiday_. Agreeing with herself, Claire picked up the receiver and dialed his number.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Before leaving his mother for the last time, she gave him a ring. The ring, which was a silver band holding a green gemstone, was to lead him to his true love, she had told him. David refused, but she insisted. It had been in the family for a long time. It had drawn Ruth's parents together. It drew Ruth to her husband. Now it would help David find his love.

He confessed to not loving Princess Abigail. Ruth told him he could learn to love her. It was the magic of the ring. No matter what, he would find his true love as long as he kept it near.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

At Granny's Diner, sitting at the counter was a thoroughly dejected Mary Margaret. She was fiddling with the ring on her finger. It was a silver band holding a green gemstone. She had been crying off and on. She knew going in that this was how it would turn out, yet she ignored her own counsel and plowed ahead anyway. Dr. Whale, who had joined her and was talking with her, sympathized. He offered to buy her a drink in consolation.

**~O~**

Claire listened anxiously to the ringing tone. She almost hoped Hartley wouldn't answer. She had not been this nervous since she was first dating Charlie. Maybe that was a good sign, she told herself.

When he answered, Claire just about hung up the phone. Nervous nausea almost overwhelming her.

"Hello?" he said. Claire said nothing at first. She could barely speak.

"Hello?" he asked again.

"Hart…, Hartley?" she finally managed to spit out.

"Claire? Is that you?"

"Yes…, yes it's me."

"What a strange coincidence, I was about to call you," he told her. "Would you like to go out to a movie tomorrow night?"

Claire let out a huge sigh of relief. She had wanted to invite him to dinner, but thought that perhaps he might find it too forward so early in their relationship. Did they even have a relationship? So far she and Hartley had been on one official date. Their second "date" was a chance meeting at the Nolan's party. A dinner invite to her house might make him uncomfortable. In fact, she might look desperate. That would drive this man away.

No, a movie was a perfect compromise. A neutral location where both could be comfortable.

"A movie tomorrow with you would be perfect," she said.

Claire and Hartley talked a while longer, discussing what to see and when he would pick her up. When the call ended Claire placed another call. This time to Clarence. He asked him if he would be willing to "babysit" Tina and Valerie. After a momentary pause, Clarence agreed.

Claire trusted the boy implicitly. She had no idea what Tina and Clarence had once planned to do. She was oblivious to their mutual attraction and to her young daughter's burgeoning sexuality. Had she been aware, Claire would never entrust her two girls to the young man. Clarence had always been the responsible type. He seemed mature beyond his years. It was why Claire thought so highly of him. Yet for all his supposed maturity he could still give in to the desires of a nineteen year old boy.

That was something that never crossed her mind.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

David, now forever having to go by the name of his dead brother, Prince James, met with his adopted father King George and his new ally King Midas. He was to escort his bride to be to their destination. Their new home. James decided to take the scenic route, rather than the more direct path. Perhaps by spending some meaningful time with the princess he could find qualities in her he could love.

On the ride through the forest, Princess Abigail did nothing but complain. The path James had chosen was too long. The ride too bumpy. Not a single word of praise or kindness escaped her unhappy lips. The carriage in which they were riding and the contingent of mounted guards came to a stop. There was a roadblock ahead. Unbeknownst to them, waiting high in the trees was the thief, Snow White, waiting to pounce on her unsuspecting prey.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Emma was patrolling the town this evening. Graham had promised no night shifts, but he asked her to cover for him. He explained that he volunteered at the animal shelter. The shift supervisor was ill and Graham was needed to feed the animals overnight. Emma agreed, but only because he had bribed her with a Bear Claw.

While driving through the upscale neighborhood, Emma saw someone jumping out of the Mayor's house. She stopped the car and apprehended the intruder. It was Graham. The window he had jumped out of Regina's bedroom. Emma was sickened that he and Regina were having sex while Henry was still in the house.

Graham tried to justify himself by saying that Henry was asleep and had no knowledge of the affair. Emma didn't care to hear it. She was too disgusted by Graham's bad judgment. She told him he could finish the night shift. Emma was going back home.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Romano-British Period on the Mainland)

"Did you get what you wanted?" A tall, wiry man asked. The man, dressed in a long coat and wearing an exaggerated top hat, was named Jefferson. He was a portal jumper. His hat used the ambient magic in any environment to open portals between realms. The only places off limits to him were worlds and realms without magic of their own.

"Not that it is any of your business, but yes. I did," Rumpelstiltskin answered. He dangled two small bags, one contained golden pixie dust, the other blue pixie dust. Jefferson did not know why he needed this dust, there was plenty of Pixie Dust that could found on dark Never Land. Why he had to come to this alternate Never Land was beyond him.

"Good, then we can go home," Jefferson said. "I want to see my daughter."

"Oh were not done yet," Rumpelstiltskin told him. "I have many more jumps to make."

Jefferson did not look happy. "You said we would only be here as long as was necessary."

"Yes, I did, and it is still necessary for me to be here," The Dark One replied. "Don't worry, you'll be paid handsomely for your work. Then you can get your wee little one anything her heart desires."

"Her heart desires being with her father."

Rumpelstiltskin felt that comment sting. It was an unpleasant experience. "Spin your hat, portal jumper. We are going to another Never Land realm. One different from this one."

Jefferson looked confused. He thought that this was the alternate Never Land that The Dark One needed.

Rumpelstiltskin was not one to sit on his laurels and let others have the knowledge he could use to his own advantage. Knowledge, like gold, was power. The Dark One coveted power. He had read through all of Jefferson's maps and journals and was keenly aware of all the magical realms and universes that existed beyond the Enchanted Forest.

"Where are we going this time," Jefferson asked, needing a specific place and time for the hat to work properly.

"It's a Never Land just like this one," Rumpelstiltskin observed. "However, the fairies who live here call their home Pixie Hollow. Where we are going, they call it Fairy Haven. I suspect I will find someone there who can help me accomplish my goals."

* * *

FAIRY HAVEN, NEVER LAND (Contemporary times)

Mother Dove lay in her nest in the Hawthorne Tree. Beck, the animal fairy, flitted about caring for the sweet bird. She brought Mother Dove anything she needed. Food, water, companionship. The dove pecked gently at her plumage. She cooed gently her appreciation for Beck's dedicated service.

Mother Dove could not move from her nest to get the things she needed to survive. Her egg was special. It was responsible for keeping everyone who lived on this Never Land from aging. If the egg broke all the fairies, people and creatures that lived on Never Land would grow old and die like normal.

Beck understood how important her role was. Protecting Mother Dove and her egg meant protecting Never Land and all the fairies of Fairy Haven. Beck helped Mother Dove to keep her feathers looking pretty and well ordered. On this Never Land, the Pixie Dust Tree no longer existed. Instead, Mother Dove's feathers were used to create pixie dust.

Every year, Mother Dove molted and all of her feathers were collected and brought to the pixie dust mill where they were ground into dust and carefully distributed to everyone. The annual pixie dust harvest had to last all year until the next molt. Protecting the dust, and Mother Dove, was essential to survival.

This Never Land, unlike the one Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin had just left, was different. This Never Land was alive. It constantly moved, preventing anyone from randomly finding it. When a baby laughed for the first time, that laugh would eventually become a fairy. But many kinds of fairies existed. Never Fairies, Great Wanded Fairies, Lesser Wanded Fairies and so many more. If Never Land didn't want the laugh, it would move and not let it come to the island.

But when Jefferson and Rumpelstiltskin arrived, Never Land had no choice. They arrived unexpectedly. Never Land could not move to avoid them. Even if Never Land tried, the portal would always find its way to the island. But that didn't mean the magical island couldn't fight back. It convulsed and blew powerful winds. It moved and spun trying to remove the unwanted visitors. Yet for all its complaining Never Land could not dislodge the two.

Mother Dove was in tune with Never Land Island. She could feel what it felt. Knew what it knew. She keenly understood.

"What is it, Mother Dove?" Beck asked her. "Why is Never Land is so mad?"

Mother Dove straightened her neck and listened to the island. Then she spoke. "Evil is here."

* * *

**This is the end of Episode 6. I hope every has been enjoying this story. **

**The final section, which takes place on the Never Land with Fairy Haven, is from the book universe of the Disney Fairies franchise. It should be considered another alternate or parallel universe Never Land.  
**

**The book universe consists of many of the young reader books beginning with_ Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg_ (2005), _Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand_ (2008), and _Fairies and the Quest for Never Land_ (2010). All three were written by Gail Carson Levine who is probably best known as the author of _Ella Enchanted_.  
**


	35. Chapter 35

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 1**

Note: This occurs during the seventh episode of the first season titled: "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter."

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Restoration Period on the Mainland)

Vidia was brought before Queen Clarion. The fast flyer, noted for having a high opinion of herself, had made several disparaging remarks to members of the Tinker Talent Guild. After numerous encounters, the guild overseer for the Tinkers, Fairy Mary, decided it was time to bring matters to the queen.

Clarion read through a laundry list of complaints against the Vidia. She had constantly harassed members of the tinker guild. She claimed they worked in a ditch, smelled badly at all times, dressed shamefully, possessed no real magic or talent of their own, referred to them as unnecessary and made unfavorable comparisons to the clumsy humans who lived on the mainland.

The queen was at a loss for words. No fairy in all of Pixie Hollow had shown such contempt for other guilds before. When Vidia first arrived, she had made a rather rude and blunt comment to the queen. Clarion had laughed it off then. Now it seemed that it was a mere sample of Vidia's snobbish and egotistical personality.

"I have never heard of such disgraceful behavior in my rule as queen," Clarion told the scowling flyer. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I was just telling the truth," Vidia replied bluntly. "The Tinkers are an inferior caste."

"No one in Pixie Hollow is inferior," Clarion responded. "Every individual fairy is equal. Each talent guild is equal."

"Don't be so certain," Vidia answered. "Fast flyers are the fastest guild. If everyone is so 'equal' why can't everyone fly as fast as we do?"

"There is a difference between inequality of talent and equality of person, Vidia," Clarion responded. "Each and every fairy and sparrow man is treated as equals. They are equal under the law and are due the same respect and dignity as everyone else."

"Hmmph," was all Vidia would say in response.

Just then Festus entered the room. He bowed to the queen and apologized for the intrusion. "My queen, there seems to be a misunderstanding. You see, we were just having a little fun at Vidia's expense."

Queen Clarion quirked a suspicious eyebrow. Festus, while a dependable fast flyer, could be a bit of a troublemaker himself. Though nothing as notoriously awful as what Vidia had been accused of. Several Tinker fairies and even Fairy Mary herself were present for this preliminary inquisition. They had all made numerous claims, verified by others, of Vidia's hurtful remarks.

"What do you mean, 'having a little fun,' Festus?" the queen asked, looking as unamused as possible. "And just who is 'we'?"

"Well, really it was just me," Festus clarified. "Not long after Vidia arrived, I and a couple of the other blokes did the usual hazing rituals. Then she and I had a couple of drinks, and I made a few off color jokes about the Tinker Guild. It got plenty of laughs from the fellows. Mind you, I don't actually believe any of it myself. I have great respect for the Tinkers. They are a wonderful guild. But, we are the fast flyers and we sometimes do have a high opinion of ourselves."

"A little too high, if you ask me," Fairy Mary rebuked.

"Thank you, Mary," Clarion said firmly, yet gently.

"Well, to be honest I didn't think Vidia would take any of it to heart," Festus continued. "I thought she would just laugh it off just like the rest of us."

"Would that include Swift?" Clarion asked.

"Oh no, Swift is very upstanding," Festus said, artfully lying. "I always tell him it's just a little harmless one upmanship, but he is a lot like you, Your Highness. Never likes it when our playful banter gets out of hand."

"I see," Clarion replied succinctly. "Is this the truth, Vidia?"

"Uh…, yeah. I guess I mistook what they were saying as the truth," she answered. "I'm sorry if I said anything wrong."

Clarion turned to Fairy Mary, who seemed to accept Vidia's apology.

"Oh very well," the chubby guild master answered. "We're not above the occasional slight of other guilds ourselves. Not that we make a habit of it, mind you," Fairy Mary added with a wink to the queen. "We'll just let bygones be bygones."

With that, the situation was concluded and Vidia was allowed to go free, though with a stern warning from the queen about treating others as equals.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire was busy dressing for her date with Hartley. Tina was sitting in front of the television with Clarence. They were watching a reality television show.

"Oh, no, sweetheart, don't watch that," Claire grabbed the remote and tapped in a new station.

"The Disney Channel?" Tina complained. "Mom, this is for babies."

"But you always used to watch it," Claire said.

"They haven't had anything good on since _Kim Possible_ went off the air," she said.

Then from the television speaker came:

_There's 104 days of summer vacation  
And school comes along just to end it  
So the annual problem for our generation  
Is finding a good way to spend it_

"Ooh, _Phineas and Ferb_," Tina said gleefully. "I love this show."

Claire smiled, though with a mixture of eye rolling and head shaking.

In the kitchen, Valerie was sulking. She resented needing a sitter. At age 24 she was old enough to take care of herself, without the need for adult supervision. Or in this case, teenaged supervision.

Claire tried to calm her bruised ego by saying, "It's really more for Tina. I know you don't need anyone to watch over you."

"Then why didn't you ask me to sit my little sister?" Valerie spat.

"Would you have said 'yes'?"

"No."

"That's why I hired a sitter."

Nevertheless, it stung Valerie to know that she was never asked. A little acknowledgement that Claire at least _thought_ she was capable of this responsibility would have been nice. Though she never told that to her mother. Instead, she just sulked even more. As far as Valerie was concerned, Claire never listened; she just gave orders and made belittling remarks.

When Hartley arrived, he found his date dressed in a lovely black dress. She looked stunning, something he said to her quite emphatically. The high neckline and just above the knee hem with black stockings and high heel shoes gave her a look that was both fetching and mysterious, yet properly conservative.

The mother of two still needed to set a good example for her girls.

"I'll be back in a few hours," she told Tina and Clarence. Valerie just grunted from the kitchen. "Be good."

"We will, Mom," Tina said cheerily.

"They're in good hands, Mrs. Kensington," Clarence added.

"Thank you, Clarence." Not that she really needed to hear it from him, but it was reassuring. Claire grabbed her wrap to guard against the autumn chill and left with her handsome date.

**~O~**

Less than twenty minutes passed when Valerie left the house to take another joy ride on her bike. Clarence tried to talk her out of it, but she refused to listen. He at least got her to agree not to break the speed limit and be back at a reasonable hour. Like, before Mrs. Kensington returned home.

"If you're gone, I'm a goner," he summarized.

Valerie pinched his cheek and then patted it, like an aunt would to a young nephew. "Ooh, don't you worry. I'll be home before Mommy finds out what's been going on behind her back." She then roared off into the night on her Harley Davidson.

Truthfully, Valerie had to be back before her mother. If she were out too late again or was picked up by the Sheriff, Claire would confiscate the motorcycle and lock it away. Val couldn't let that happen. Instead, she told Clarence that she was going on a joy ride when she was really going to see Kyle. There was no other way out of this house and out of this town without his money and assistance. After last time, though, Val wasn't sure he would even acknowledge her.

She was fully reassured when Kyle greeted her at the door with a hug and a big, wet and messy kiss.

"I need a way out," she told him.

"Stay here," he answered.

"No, I have to get out of this town," she replied. "But I need your help to do it."

**~O~**

At Granny's Diner, Sheriff Graham was tossing darts at a board with a picture of a deer on it. Every dart hit its mark. Sydney Glass, the reporter was watching in awe. He even placed a bet that Graham couldn't hit his target with the next dart. Good luck has to run out sooner or later. It was later, the dart was perfectly thrown and hit its mark with uncanny precision.

Emma walked in on the dart game, but had no desire to talk to Graham. She had been avoiding him all day long. Graham was upset by this and followed her out of the diner and into the chilly autumn night. He tried to explain that he felt nothing between himself and Regina. Emma didn't really care to hear it.

Graham was caught in a bad relationship. What else was there to say?

Then Sheriff Graham did something completely unexpected. He kissed her. When he did, Graham saw a wolf. A wolf with one red eye and one dark eye. Emma pushed him away. She was disappointed in him before, now she was upset. Frustrated, Graham went to Regina's house to sleep with her again. After sex, he falls asleep and dreams of a wolf and a deer. The dream awakens him in the middle of the night. The images were so powerful that he tells Regina it felt more like a memory.

Regina, like Emma, refuses to believe him. He leaves, thoroughly confused by his strange vision. At his car, Graham is shocked to find that very same wolf standing in the street, staring back at him. The wolf runs off. Graham decides to pursue it.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Snow White's father is dead. She grieves at his sarcophagus. Snow and her stepmother, the queen, comfort each other. The queen has lost her beloved husband, a pain she feels as deeply as her stepdaughter.

Later, when Regina enters her private chambers, she spits with anger at her enchanted mirror. She killed the king and must now find a way to remove Snow White, as well. However, no one can know of her handiwork. The people of the kingdom loved their King and they love Snow White. Killing Snow outright would alienate Queen Regina from the people she wanted to rule.

She needed someone to do the dirty work for her. Someone who was a ruthless killer. What she needed was a huntsman. The mirror, at the queen's request, showed her a likely candidate. A tall and handsome man with a strong accent and true talent for killing.

The Huntsman is ridiculed by others at a local tavern. He mourns the loss of the animals he kills. And he finds companionship with a wolf. A wolf with one red eye and one dark eye. The creature is loyal and brave and honorable. Which is more than he can say about most humans.

The queen likes what she sees and orders her guards to bring him to her. The huntsman's task will be a simple one. Take Snow out on a walk. He will be dressed as one of the king's knights. He is then to kill Snow White, carve out her heart and return it to the queen in a special box. An ornate jewelry chest that belonged to Snow.

Then her revenge will be complete.

* * *

**Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Sorry it took so long to post. I've been trying to catch up with another crossover I'm writing. Please leave a review.**


	36. Chapter 36

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 2**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

"Oh man, your mother is going to kill me," Clarence moaned.

"You'll be fine," Tina told him. "Val will be back soon. Here, just sit down next to me and lets watch a movie."

Tina used the Guide button on the cable box remote to find a movie she wanted to watch. However, like in her room, the channels Claire found too much for her littlest girl were blocked.

"Oh great!" she groaned. "Mommy dearest strikes again. No problem. I've got some movies up in my room. Be right back."

The little blonde girl ran to the bottom of the stairs. She stopped and turned around saying, "Unless you want to come up here with me? We can make our own romantic film."

"Huh!?" Clarence squeaked nearly jumping out of the sofa. "What?"

"Would you like to come up to my room and steam up the place?"

"Now!? Your mother could be home at any moment!"

"She'll be gone for hours," Tina informed him. Hartley had called earlier to add dinner to their evening plans. Dinner would likely take up to an hour. Then the film, another two hours, and then they would go somewhere to talk before coming home. Probably Granny's Diner for some coffee. "Trust me, we have the house to ourselves for a very long time."

"Well, your mother does trust me not to do anything wrong," Clarence responded.

"Do you want to make out with me or not?!" Tina yelled at him.

Clarence jumped out of the sofa and ran upstairs. Not so much out of carnal desires, but because whenever Tina yelled at him, he found it was better to just go along with what she wanted than to make her angry. Though rarely seen, she had one hell of a temper and he desperately wanted to avoid her wrath.

"That's better," she said, following him up to her room.

**~O~**

"You want to leave town?" Kyle asked Valerie.

"Yes, I figured out my life," she answered. "I need to find a city where I can learn to fly."

"Then what? What will you do with that?"

"That's what I finally decided," she answered. Valerie had thought about flying commercial airliners, but that was too routine for her. Aircraft that ferried cargo or mail was just as much of a bore as commercial jetliners. She certainly had no desire to join the military, they would send her off into combat. No, she had seen something on ESPN a while back and it caught her attention. It was the Red Bull Air Race Championship. The Red Bull Air Race series is a competition of speed and precision flying. Pilots fly their aircraft through a slalom course while racing against the clock and other pilots.

Aircraft used are made for high speeds and exceptional maneuverability. Air races involve incredibly tight turns at high speeds to make it around or through air gates. Tournaments were held around the world, with races that eventually lead to a championship competition for that year. The schedule for 2011 and 2012 had been cancelled to improve the organization and pilot safety. It was believed that by 2013 the Red Bull Air Race series would resume. Val thought this gave her the time she needed to learn to fly and become proficient with the aircraft.

Even if she couldn't compete at that level by 2013, she could start competing at lower levels, learning the game and moving up until she could qualify.

"I want to fly one of those high speed, precision machines," she said enthusiastically. "It's challenging and it will push me to my limits every time."

"I think you need to stop watching so much television," Kyle told her.

"This is not some dumb idea," she yelled at him. "This is what I want from my life! Now are you going to help me or not?"

"What do you want from me?"

"Funding," she replied. "Funds to get to a major city so I can enroll in flight school, then learn to fly in those kinds of tournaments."

"Do you know how long that takes? How long it takes just to be good enough to enter any tournament, much less _that_ one? It could take years? You'll be practicing every day for hours and hours?"

"Exactly, I'll be flying all the time," Val said with excitement. "But that means I need someone who can fund my training."

"Is that what you want me for? My money?"

"I want you to come with me, Kyle," she said.

"And what? Live together?"

"Yes! You and me, together."

He looked at her dumbfounded. "You're serious, aren't you?"

"Very," she replied.

"I don't know, I…, what about my day trading?"

"You can do that from a laptop while we travel," she said. "You can bring all of your computers with you and setup where ever we decide to live."

"Val, you'll be traveling all over the world," he told her. "Those races take place in England, Budapest, Australie, the Middle East and the United States."

"Great! Plenty of new places to see. It will never get boring. Just what I want out of my life."

A chime brought Kyle running to his computer. A stock had reached a preset level. He clicked a few buttons and made a trade. "That netted about ten thousand dollars," he said with a smile.

Valerie turned to walk away. "You really do care more about your money than anything else. It was a mistake coming here."

She had had this conversation with him before. Valerie only came back to him because Kyle was the one person in town she knew with the money and perhaps the willingness to help her realize her dreams. Those dreams were now in focus. The first time in her life that they were and she was stuck here in this two bit town with no way out.

Kyle Lindwurm still preferred his money to people. Tonight was ending the same way it did a few days ago. She thought that maybe having a real plan of action would get Kyle to change his mind. No nebulous ideas, but a true and solid plan. Not one thing seemed to pry him away from his trading and his money. This was a fool's errand and she was the fool for running it.

Val turned the door knob to leave when she was grabbed by the wrist. Kyle had taken hold of her. He pulled her back into the house. One look told her all she need to know. His computers were off. No day trading, no chiming reminders, nothing that would interfere with her plans.

"I'll go wherever you want," he said. "You are worth more to me than all the money in the world."

It was all she needed to hear.

**~O~**

After a nice dinner at a Greek restaurant, Claire and Hartley settled into their theater seats. The movie they went to see was a romantic comedy which had received good reports from several respected movie reviewers. During the course of the film, Hartley noticed that halfway through the film Claire had wrapped her arm around his and was leaning up against him. He felt a bit nervous, unsure if she would respond positively to his arm around her shoulders. He decided that for their second "official" date this was inappropriate. Instead, he leaned in closer to her. She nuzzled in a little more, seeming to enjoy his company.

**~O~**

When Hartley brought Claire home, it was a little later than either had realized. Both had to get up very early the next morning for work, yet neither regretted staying out so late. Mr. Winter walked his lovely date to the door of her house, as he had the last time.

"I hope we can do this again," he told her.

"So do I," she replied.

"Do you like the theater?" he asked. "I can get us tickets to a revival of _The Music Man_?"

"That's my favorite musical. Wait, did Charlie tell you?"

"I'm afraid he did," Hartley was forced to admit. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, I'm glad you remembered," she replied. "I would love to go."

Hartley smiled, both from relief and the burgeoning feelings he had for this fine young woman.

"Excellent, I will call you to set up a date." He took her hand in his and raised it to his lips to kiss it. This time, however, Claire stopped him. Instead, she took _his_ hand and put it to her cheek, allowing him to gently caress it. For the moment, Hartley was uncertain what she had intended. The look in her eyes, though, clued him in. He leaned in, lightly pulling her towards him.

Then they kissed.

She smiled, her eyes lit up. Hartley was almost certain he saw tears in those sparkling blue eyes. "Goodnight, Hartley. Thank you for tonight." She opened the door and went inside her home, but before closing the door said, "Call me."

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Restoration Period on the Mainland)

"What just happened?" Vidia asked of Festus after leaving the Pixie Dust Tree.

"I just saved your wings," he replied. "We talk down the Tinkers, and we'll even disparage them to their face, but we don't get caught."

"Are you…, are you mad at me?" she asked.

Festus stopped. "No, I'm not mad. How can I be mad at the most talented, loveliest girl in the entire guild?"

"What? You think I'm…, pretty?"

"Yes, I do," Festus confessed. The two just hovered in the air, neither saying a word to the other. There was an uncomfortableness that was palatable.

"C'mon, let's go back to the club," he told her. "I'm sure Swift will be happy to hear everything turned out alright for you."

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Clarence had fallen asleep on the sofa. Claire woke him up and sent the boy home, paying him the fee she promised. He drove him in his Pontiac Aztek SUV. Claire could not understand why he ever bought such an ugly vehicle. She went upstairs and checked in on her girls. Both were asleep in the beds, looking like perfect angels. Claire didn't notice it, but Valerie was sleeping on her stomach. She normally slept on her back or side.

Of course, the middle aged mother of two wasn't thinking much about such details. Her heart was still a flutter. The evening with Hartley Winter was incredible. Dinner was excellent. The movie was delightful and he leaned in against her when she took his arm. Those things meant much to Claire. He had real feelings for her. But that wasn't even the best of it.

Their goodnight kiss was electric. She hadn't felt that way in nearly a decade. She felt more comfortable being around Hartley, and more comfortable not thinking about Charlie. One look at her bed and the prospect of being lonely for the rest of her life didn't seem so inevitable.

"Think clearly," she told herself. "It's only been two official dates." Yet so much felt so right.

**~O~**

Sheriff Graham couldn't find the wolf last night, so he went home and got some sleep. The next morning, though, he was up very early and went into the woods near Storybrooke to search for the animal. He deftly moved over the uneven earth and around the towering pines, their trunks covered in green moss. The air was thick with the smell of the trees.

Then he heard a sound. Graham followed it, but instead of the wolf he encountered Mr. Gold who claimed to be doing a little gardening. The sheriff replied that he was looking for a wolf. A creature which even Mr. Gold knew did not live anywhere near Storybrooke.

Graham told the pawn broker about his strange dream. Gold's response suggested that such dreams were memories of past lives. This was the feeling Graham had last night. If Mr. Gold thought it was true then maybe he wasn't going mad.

**~O~**

At Mary Margaret's place, Emma found a bouquet of flowers on the counter. She threw them away, thinking they were from Graham. Turned out, they were for Mary Margaret from Dr. Whale. Mary Margaret had a one night stand with him and he was sending her flowers hoping to develop a relationship.

Emma was rather proud of her roommate, she was finally getting over David Nolan and searching out a life of her own. Mary Margaret, though, sensed something wrong with Emma. Emma liked Graham, but something wouldn't let her express that. Emma, it seemed, had plenty of bad relationships in her life. Most of her dates rarely ever went beyond one night.

Mary Margaret knew the problem right away. Emma had built a wall to protect herself from getting hurt. But that wall, she explained to her roommate, didn't just keep the pain out, it kept the love out, as well.

**~O~**

He kept searching, listening until finally, Graham found the wolf. It did exist. A beautiful creature with white hair and one red eye that seemed to peer through your soul and one eye as black as the night. The wolf turned to walk away, but Graham chased after it. Then he whistled, feeling as though it was a familiar thing to do. The wolf stopped and looked at him. After a moment, the animal walked right up to him as though they were familiar. Graham couldn't understand this. He petted the animal, and the wolf enjoyed it.

Suddenly Graham was possessed by images. Images of a forest not unlike this one. Of Mary Margaret, but in strange dress and with long hair. Then a dagger raised high into the air and plunging as though to kill. The howling of the wolf and finally an image of a seal or family crest. Deer antlers held in a circle. It might have been carved from marble…, or maybe into it.

When Sheriff Graham awoke from the trance like state, he was sweating profusely and the wolf was gone. Now, though, he had a few more pieces to the puzzle. First, he went to visit Mary Margaret.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who has been reading this story. I greatly appreciate your feedback. Please leave a review.**

**And remember: Sheriff Graham = The Huntsman**


	37. Chapter 37

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 3**

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Graham visited Mary Margaret between classes. He told her he knew her. Well of course they knew each other, she replied. Graham, however, insisted that they knew each other from another life.

Mary Margaret gave him a look of concern. This was essentially the same thing that Henry said. She thought Graham had been talking to her imaginative student. He looked confused. She explained to him that Henry had this book of fairy tales and was convinced that everyone in Storybrooke was a character from that book.

Henry Mills had the answers, Graham thought. He went to find him.

**~O~**

Mayor Regina Mills went to the Sheriff's Station to confront Deputy Emma Swan. Regina had become jealous of Ms. Swan. She was convinced that Emma and Graham were developing a connection or a relationship. Regina told Emma to stay away from him. Graham was hers and she didn't want Emma getting in the way.

**~O~**

Sheriff Graham spoke to Henry about his visions. Henry, piecing things together, concludes that Graham was the queen's huntsman. The person The Evil Queen had contracted to kill Snow White. He was to have removed her heart and brought it back to the queen as proof of the murder. However, the huntsman couldn't go through with it, so The Evil Queen took the huntsman's heart instead.

Now Graham was convinced he had no heart. It might explain why he couldn't feel anything when he was with Regina.

**~O~**

Claire spent most of the day hating herself. She was convinced that she had come off as desperate last night. When her date with Hartley ended, she kissed him. It was only their second date official date. How could she be that stupid?

"He must have thought I was being too forward," she mumbled to herself while working at the Town Hall. Of course, today, younger couples routinely engaged in sex on the third date while others engaged in sexual relations with people they didn't even love. They called it "friends with benefits," although there were more profane terms for it.

She and Hartley were not young, they came from a different generation and a different set of morals and ethics. Sex was something intimate and was to be shared between two people who truly loved each other. It was not to be engaged in lightly or just for fun. At least, that was how she had been brought up. She assumed Hartley embraced the same or similar values.

_He is never going to call me back_, Claire thought. Now she worried that she had lost any chance with this good man. That sense of loneliness set in again. It made her sick in the pit of her stomach. She hid her anxieties from Valerie. She had to remain strong and stable for her two girls. They deserved that much.

In spite of her caution, Claire found herself crying as she worked. Tears would occasionally leak from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Valerie, who was listening to music from an iPod, didn't seem to notice.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Restoration Period on the Mainland)

"Well done, well done," Swift told Festus and Vidia. He was very proud of them. Vidia was not punished by Queen Clarion for her insensitive remarks aimed at the Tinker Guild.

"We're doing a good job hiding all of this from the queen," Swift whispered to Festus. "I'll be running this guild soon and Clarion won't be any the wiser to us."

Swift and Festus truly believed in the superiority and ascendancy of the Fast Flyer's Talent Guild. They had been trying to get others to fall in line, but most thought along the same lines of Queen Clarion. Equality of person trumped inequality of talent or guild.

Yes, they all believed that their guild was the best, but not in the same sense as Swift and Festus.

The other fast flyers viewed their guild with pride. Their claims of superiority were little more than morale boosters and prideful boasting. These two, however, had taken it beyond that to the levels of bigotry and prejudice. They looked down on the other guilds and talents. They were viewed as inferior in much the same way that some humans viewed other races of their own kind as inferior.

Queen Clarion's belief in the equality of person only proved her weakness in their eyes. Swift and Festus had a plan. They were going to run the guild from under the nose of their guild overseer, Fairy Morrison. Eventually, they intended to impose their will on the entirety of Pixie Hollow through clandestine methods. Their ultimate goal was to force Clarion to recognize their guild's natural superiority.

Vidia falling into their lap was a stroke of good luck. Her great talent effectively made her a celebrity and the public face of the guild. Swift and Festus made sure to spend as much time with her as possible so they could "educate" Vidia in their ways. Mold her into what they wanted and needed while earning her loyalty. What they needed from her was the leverage Vidia's celebrity status could offer their movement. She legitimized their cause just by being associated with it. This made it easier to both bring in new converts and retain their old ones.

Swift stood on one of the tables in their tavern. He banged two cups together to gain the attention of everyone there. Each fast flyer in attendance was an adherent to their way of thinking. "Alright, alright. First, let us have a round of applause for our young Ms. Vidia."

The dozen or so flyers clapped their hands for the girl. Vidia, who was still dressed in her tight skirt and now sported four of the purple feathers, could barely contain herself. The appreciation was tangible. She felt special, not just for her talent, but just because of who she was. She was getting validation from these people and it made her feel good inside.

"Vidia," Swift began, "we apologize for not making that one detail clear. It is our fault that you were put into such a difficult spot. You are too important to our guild to allow your good name to be sullied. Please, can you forgive us?"

"Sure," Vidia answered. "You're my only true friends."

Swift flitted down from his perch and embraced Vidia. The warm and fuzzy feeling this created in her only endeared them to her even more. This was exactly what Swift wanted.

"Thank you, Vidia," he said. "You're like family to us now."

After another round of applause, Swift began this meeting in earnest. The first order of business was simple, to continue recruit more people. He needed everyone there to use the pride that the flyers had in their own guild as a means of converting them to their cause. The idea was to use simple reasoning to show the logical leap from prideful boasting to a firm belief in natural superiority.

Festus slid up closer to Vidia. Then he coyly put his arm around her waist and pulled her towards him. She didn't pull away.

"Are you okay with this?" he asked.

"Yeah," she answered with a smile.

His question had a double meaning. Was she okay with what was being said? Was she okay with how he was acting towards her? She seemed to recognize both possibilities. Her answer give Festus the clear impression that she approved of each one.

Vidia was falling in love with Festus. Nothing generated more intense loyalty than love.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

The Huntsman had lost all hope in humanity. He had been abandoned by his parents. The wolves raised him. They were his real family. The wolf who travelled with him was his brother. Humans, he believed, killed each other for fun or profit or to impose their will. Animals only killed for food. In his opinion that made the animals the morally superior creatures.

In spite of all of this, he disliked the task at hand. He felt it degraded him to the level of the other humans he so despised. The huntsman was dressed as a knight and was escorting the beautiful Snow White on a walk. She engaged him in conversation. He was to kill her and cut out her heart. Then return it to the queen as proof of the deed. He hardened himself for the killing blow.

There was just one problem. Every knight who had escorted Snow on her walks had always offered their condolences. He hadn't. When Snow pointed his out, he tried to remedy his mistake, but it was too little, too late. Snow knew he was to kill her by the order of the queen.

"Your instincts serve you well," he said.

"And you're wearing too much armor," she answered just before Snow knocked him down with a large branch. While he struggled to his feet, Snow White ran for her life. This didn't really change his plans. As a huntsman, he was an excellent tracker. Snow was a coddled princess. The advantage was all his.

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire was so nervous that she nearly wretched after lunch and again on the way home for work. She needn't have worried. On her home phone was a message from Hartley.

"Hello, Claire? I was able to secure tickets to the show this weekend. Are you free? Please return my call."

She called him back and accepted. They talked for almost an hour before hanging up. Claire was so relieved. After the holiday she was going on another date with her handsome man. Now she began to wonder if this made them boyfriend and girlfriend.

When she looked up at the clock it was getting late, Claire had to run back out. She needed to collect the turkey and sides she had ordered. "I hope they haven't closed yet."

* * *

**Thanks you to everyone has been reading. I hope you enjoy this new chapter. Please let me know what you think so far.**


	38. Chapter 38

**Disney's Tinker Bell in Storybrooke**  
**A Disney Fairies / Once Upon A Time Crossover**  
**Season 1, Episode 7, Chapter 4**

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Restoration Period on the Mainland)

Vidia listened intently as Swift offered reasons for the superiority of the Fast Flyer's Talent Guild. These were the reasons that each of his acolytes were to give for turning others to his underground movement.

"Be patient," he told them. "You can't expect them to come around to our way of thinking right away. Let each step of your logic seep in. They cannot be bullied into accepting our opinions. They must be carefully led to our way of thinking. They must think they came to the conclusion on their own. Do that and they will be ours forever."

"Forever is a long time, don't you think?" a loud and gruff voice bellowed.

Swift turned around and looked into the face of his guild overseer, Fairy Morrison. Morrison was an imposing fellow, towering and broad shouldered. He was an older sparrow man with leathery skin and numerous nicks in his tall wings. His voice sounded like a gravely trumpet, his eyes were like black chunks of coal and he walked with an odd gait. His slight limp was the result of a run in with a hawk centuries earlier. Morrison was regarded as fearless. He possessed an iron will and held a firm belief in the laws of Pixie Hollow. He used them as his moral compass. What Swift was evangelizing was offensive to Fairy Morrison.

"All right, all of you break it up. Everyone out of here," Fairy Morrison bellowed. "Except you, Swift. Stay here, you and I are going to have a little talk."

Moments later, outside the door of the tavern Vidia and Festus stood and waited. "What's going to happen to Swift?" she asked.

"Ah, don't worry too much about it," Festus answered. "He'll just get a good dressing down and that will be the end of it."

"I don't know, Fairy Morrison looked quite angry."

"He always looks angry," Festus said reassuringly, "its how he tries to keep everyone in line. He acts like he is ready to rip your wings off at any moment."

"Oh."

"Yeah, deep down he's just an old softy."

Vidia felt at ease for the moment. She tensed up again when a number of scouts arrived and entered the tavern. Shortly afterwards they exited with Swift under guard. Then a few more scouts grabbed Festus by the arms and took him away as well.

"Hey, what's going on?" Vidia shouted. "What are you doing?"

Fairy Morrison pulled her aside and explained to her that Swift and Festus were being arrested for fostering an insurrection against the queen.

"No they aren't," she replied. "We _are_ naturally superior. They just want everyone in the guild to realize that."

"Now you listen here, young lady," Fairy Morrison said with a loud voice. "What they were doing wasn't just trying to convince everyone we were superior; they wanted to subvert the queen. Swift confessed everything. He got too arrogant for his britches and now he is going to face his punishment. They were using you, kid. Wise up or else everyone is going to walk all over you."

Vidia was incensed by his lies. Festus loved her without condition and she loved him; he wouldn't do such a thing to her, would he?

* * *

STORYBROOKE, MAINE

Claire arrived after the doors had been closed. The front of the store was dark. "Oh no, I've missed them entirely. Now what am I going to do?"

She walked around the side and noticed that cars were still parked in the employee lot. She ran back around to the front and started pounding on the door. Initially, no one came to the front of the store. They probably thought she was trying to break in. She started yelling.

"Wait, wait. I have a turkey dinner in there. Can anyone hear me back there? See?" Claire put her bill of sale on the glass door. "See? I have proof. Anyone?"

Someone stuck their head around to look. "Hey, you, yeah you. See? I bought this least week." Moments later another person come to the front and opened the door.

"You're very lucky, Mrs. Kensington," the manager told her. "Another couple of minutes and we would have been gone."

Claire apologized for being so late and even offered to mow the manager's lawn next weekend for free in gratitude for being so kind. He gracefully declined, but did ask her not to mention what happened. "I wouldn't want it to get around. Everyone will show up late."

"I understand." Claire said appreciatively. She loaded her food into the truck and drove home. When she got there, though, she discovered that Valerie wasn't around.

"Where is your sister?" she asked Tina.

"Oh she went to drive around on her bike for a while," Tina answered.

"Great, when I really need her she's gone," Claire mumbled. "Tina, sweetheart, can you help me bring in Thanksgiving Dinner?"

"Sure."

**~O~**

Sheriff Graham spoke to Emma when her shift ended. He tried to explain himself again. This time he added what he had learned. That he lived in another life and that the Evil Queen had taken his heart. She had stored in a vault. There was a symbol. A crest that he had seen in Henry's book that marked the vault. Emma was worried about him. He had gone to a ten year old for advice. She then tried to convince him that he did indeed have a heart. She put his hand to his chest.

"See, it is right there," she told him. She could feel the beating in his chest. But Graham refused to believe that it could be that simple. Emma felt the extra warmth in his hand. He had a fever and didn't look very good. Graham, though, was adamant about what he had seen. Emma wanted to take him home to get rest, and then Graham went stiff as a board looking right past her. When Emma turned around she saw the wolf. The same one he had described. She was dumbstruck. Was he right about what he had seen? Or was this wolf just a detail he had added into his delusion?

Emma and Graham followed the animal. It led them to the cemetery. Specifically, they were brought to a mausoleum with the same symbol that Graham had seen in his visions and in Henry's fairy tale book. The large double doors were locked. Emma forced her way in. Graham searched for his heart, trying to find anything that could be used as a container. When he found nothing, he told Emma to search for a switch or hidden door. Emma felt sorry for him. Despite the presence of the wolf, she still could not believe that someone could have pulled his heart from his chest.

Graham looked lost, wondering if he was missing some piece to his puzzle.

* * *

THE ENCHANTED FOREST

Despite the heavy armor, The Huntsman had tracked down Snow White with surprising ease. In fact, when he found her she did not beg for mercy, nor did she fight back. She was busy writing a letter. This confused him. Why would she do this when Snow knew she was about to be killed.

Snow White confessed that he knew these woods far better than she did. She was a princess used to living in castle, he was a professional hunter and tracker. She stood no chance of avoiding him forever. It would only delay the inevitable. Instead, she asked that once the deed was done, he deliver this letter to the queen.

The Huntsman took the note and read it. The letter was an apology to the queen for ruining her life. She hoped that her death would finally quench her desire for revenge and that Regina would rule over the people as Snow's father had. The King was a gentle ruler who was wise and compassionate. This was the model Snow White asked Regina to follow.

For the man who had been raised by wolves and felt no kinship to any human, The Huntsman found himself truly mystified. He had lost all hope in mankind, yet here was this young woman who was a beacon for all that could be right about people. Unlike so many others he had encountered, her heart was good and pure. She put the welfare of others above her own and was willing to sacrifice herself so the queen could finally put to rest her pain of loss.

He felt for her. He felt for her in a way he had never felt for any person. Yet he was honor bound to fulfill the queen's request. He took his dagger and raised it for the killing blow. Snow closed her eyes and waited for the pain of the dagger violating her flesh, ripping through her body and the warmth of her blood to pour down her skin. Her life bleeding away.

It never happened.

Instead she heard a quick sound, a flick. She looked up and The Huntsman was fashioning a whistle from reed he had cut. He told her to use it whenever she needed help. Then he told her to run. Run as far away as she could. Snow couldn't understand why he would do this. But she followed his commands and left his presence, taking the whistle with her.

Needing a heart to satisfy the queen, he found a stag and killed it. He cut out the animal's heart and placed it into the box to return it to the queen. He never thought he would do such a thing. He had not killed for need. Yet everything he did felt right. Snow White deserved to live, sacrificing the stag in her place meant keeping that one shining light of humanity from going dark.

* * *

PIXIE HOLLOW, NEVER LAND (The Late Restoration Period on the Mainland)

Vidia had come to visit Festus in the stockade where he and Swift were being held. He told her to keep the faith and to never stop advancing their movement. "All we want," he told her, "is for the queen to acknowledge our superiority, that's all."

This was a lie. Swift and Festus had not only intended to gain that acknowledgement from the queen, but to have the entire Fast Flying Guild be treated like royalty. They also were going to demand that the "inferior" guilds, like the Tinker Talents and the Animal Talents, be stripped of their rights and guarantees. They weren't worthy of them, in their opinion. This, however, they did not tell most of the people they recruited. Nor did they mention it to Vidia. Neither Swift nor Festus thought she would go along if she knew everything.

"And remember, be as quiet about it as you can," Festus told her.

"I will," she answered him. The stockade bars a stern reminder of what can happen if she wasn't discreet enough. Festus leaned through the bars as far as he could and give her a peck on the cheek. It made her feel more attached to him than ever before. She smiled and even giggled just a bit.

Then she left to continue their work.

"Well?" Swift asked his cohort from the next cell.

"She's falling for it completely," Festus answered.

"Good. If the queen thinks she can stop our plans by putting us behind bars, she has another think coming. And if anything else goes wrong, Vidia can take the fall for everything."

* * *

**This story has already exceeded 5000 views. Absolutely amazing. Thanks to everyone for their continued support.**

**Fairy Morrison is an OC. He is inspired by American actor John Wayne. His height, broad shoulders, leathery skin, odd way of walking and even the way he speaks are all nods of the hat to John Wayne's public persona. His name comes from Wayne's birth name (Marion Robert Morrison).  
**


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